


The Storm Approaches

by CharmandaSmashedIt



Series: You Make The Sun Shine (And Flowers Grow) Be Wary of The Darkness [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone is precious, Fluff, Humor, Kidnapping, Panic Attacks, Piper Parker!, Piper is a struggling bug, Protective Avengers, Spidergirl can handle everything on her own but itll probably kill her, protective Spidergirl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-03-17 17:00:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 34,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13663362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharmandaSmashedIt/pseuds/CharmandaSmashedIt
Summary: Piper Parker's life had never seemed so hard to live - but that doesn't mean she's giving up. No, because the people of queens want to get home safe and sound at the end of the day, and Spidergirl makes sure it happens.She'd give up her life to do it.SHIELD however, has just put the vigilante known as Spidergirl on their PT (Potential Threat) List - and it's the Avengers job to rule her out. Reluctantly, the Avengers take on the job - not expecting the famous masked hero to be a 15 year old girl struggling to get from day to day.(Beginning to You Make The Sun Shine (And Flowers Grow) Be Wary of The Darkness.)





	1. You Can Be Ironman And I'll Be Leaving

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a new story! Tell me what you think!  
> ALSO: Swear warning? Like, there's swearing - so don't freak out.

Piper’s day had not been too bad, honestly.

She could totally get over the fact that this was her 20th day taking care of herself; which she liked to believe she did anyways, but completely by herself was new. And it was the 20th day that she had gotten up, had a very lonely breakfast – maybe freaked out because she had forgotten about her homework while working an extra shift at work, and then ran to school. After surviving solely due to her friends, she then went to the hospital to visit her worsening aunt.

All in all, it was okay and she could handle it – she had been for twenty days. She sighed, looking at the time on her phone – and seven minutes.

The thing that her already anxious self _couldn’t _handle, was the fact that every night for the past week and a half-ish someone had been following her on patrol (also the fact that her rent was three days late, but other than that it was just the stalker thing).__

__Or at least that’s what she suspected, because she could never quite get a glimpse of them. The difference tonight, however, as she sat atop an ordinary brick building’s roof; was that she _knew _that someone was following her.___ _

____Much, much closer than usual - If she wasn’t going crazy._ _ _ _

____As soon as the buzz from her Spidey-sense had gone hay-wire and began to pound against her head like a drum, she had taken a very random, and very dexterous tour around the city. Trying to drop them._ _ _ _

____If there was a them._ _ _ _

____And she was like 98% sure there was because her Spidey sense had dulled a teensy bit throughout her sprint across queens. But then it was back again – not a minute after she set foot on this roof – which meant they had caught up to her._ _ _ _

____She stopped because they probably knew she was trying to lose them; which meant she couldn’t just play dumb and ignore them anymore.  
Ignore the possible psycho-murders… probably trying to kill her… or…_ _ _ _

____Piper didn’t let her mind travel so far. Because she was still Spidergirl – a three month old superhero who’s actually a 14 (almost fifteen, okay?) year old girl in expensive red and blue spandex – and Spidergirl could handle one or two small-time criminals trying to kill her. Or whatever – two trained baddies was okay._ _ _ _

____But that was where this day went from alright to twelve on a scale of one-ten. Where ten was _I-think-I-might-jump-off-of-anything-high-enough-to-kill-me. _____ _ _

______The roof was quiet and identical to all the others around it. Piper assumed these buildings surrounding her were going to be turned into apartments or government offices sometime soon, but for now they were empty. Hence why she stopped here of all places._ _ _ _ _ _

______She looked around and breathed in the cool air, painfully aware of how tight her chest was. She wasn’t worn out or anything – maybe not physically – but the anxiety wanted to swallow her whole. Though, what did she expect from becoming a superhero? Of course something like this would happen: it was kind of in the job description._ _ _ _ _ _

______“You know,” She quipped to the supposedly empty space around her –dark as any place at 12:08 in in the morning, “If you wanted to meet me so bad you could have just said so!”_ _ _ _ _ _

______And then she added – totally not because false bravado was the only thing keeping her alive, “I don’t bite! You know, because I’m a human and not actually a spider. Which would be real weird if I were a spider-human that bit people - But you get it!”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Piper took a breath; she was okay. She had this. She _had _to have this.___ _ _ _ _ _

________She waited a second more, not noticing the small whispers coming from 5 or six buildings away, “But, if you’re actually a humanoid-spider-mutant then I won’t judge. It is 2018, so you do you! And maybe not stalk me – though I know I am alluring.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________As if in reply, a plane-like noise spurred from her left and she whirled towards it. Only to be greeted by… Piper rubbed her eyes as the figure touched down in front of her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Ironman?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Piper could only stand in shock as her childhood hero lowered his mask in front of her. Her guard fell a little, because it was ironman - not a humanoid spider thing – but her worry did not cease. Because, as much as she loved them, Piper tried to stay away from the Avengers. Not because she was scared – or, well – not of them. It was because they were the focus of media stations everywhere, not to mention famous organizations like SHIELD._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Who loved to find out people’s identities – or at least she assumed. And so she stayed away, because Spidergirl was low-key. And she liked it that way._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Hiya, Spidey. It’s nice to finally meet the web-slinging hero of queens.” Ironman quipped coolly and walked up to the girl, surprised to see that the top of her head only reached his shoulder – just about._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________She was small. _Something the short videos he had seen hadn’t portrayed. Not that it mattered, Tony noted. Heck, Clint fought aliens with a bow and arrow. But that was beside the point – he couldn’t be soft about this. At least he didn’t think it was going to go that easily.__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Y-yeah,” She looked up at him, still completely shocked. And the buzzing in her head hadn’t gone away either – she looked around._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Tony blinked when she spoke, unable to drown his surprise at how young she sounded. The estimates SHIELD and FRIDAY had given him were in the mid-late twenties. Tony knew FRIDAY had done her calculation based off of skill level and public opinion. As for SHIELD, Tony assumed they had received their information in much the same way._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I’m a huge fan of you – uh - Ironman, Sir! But… what?” Piper had so many questions, like why her head was still thumping._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You’re… You’re not alone… are you…?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Piper was confused. It was either he was alone or something else was going on here – and Ironman was the one to be afraid of. But that was unlikely, she decided. _He was freaking ironman. _____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________She relaxed despite the man’s own serious face, and let her hands drop to her sides. Whatever they - or maybe it was just him and she was crazy –were doing here, it couldn’t be bad. They we’re heroes after-all. Not to mention her role models. Which – by the way – still had her screaming inside that she was so close to Ironman. And as Spidergirl none the less._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Tony frowned at her question. Because he really hadn’t thought she could be able to tell. How was it that she knew about the others? If she knew someone was following her; logically she would assume it was only him when he came out of hiding. _Advanced hearing? _He supposed that was possible.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Either way, Tony had a feeling their mission wasn’t going to go as planned. Especially since Spidergirl had neglected contacting The Avengers a while ago (As most new super heroes try to do) – which meant that she probably didn’t want anything to do with them, and hence, their assignment. Which, really, Tony was kind of excited to do just because he found the new Spider hero intriguing. That and none of them had any say in the matter._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________It was more the latter. In fact, he kind of admired the quick witted and joyful hero. From the small bits he had seen._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Uh,” He wondered if he should lie, “It’s just me, Spidey.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Piper wasn’t sure what to think._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Anyways, enough with the chit-chat. I’m here hoping you’ll make a deal with me.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Piper blinked. “What?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________And Tony braced himself accordingly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“I’m gonna’ need you to come with me to The Avengers tower.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Piper didn’t like where this was going. Her shoulders tensed. In no way was this what she expected. Dread started to grow vines in the pit of her stomach._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Why?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Tony wondered if there was any favorable way to put this. Really, it didn’t sound great, but it wasn’t all that bad. Vigilantes are criminals after all – though literally none of the Avengers or the citizens of New York saw Spidergirl as one. But orders were orders and the law was the law. They had to be safe._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“You’re strong and that’s cool, Spidey. Unfortunately, it also means you could be dangerous – so SHIELD and The Avengers just want to sit down, “ _Maybe fight you in our training bay _, “and talk. You know, make sure you won’t go savage and kill a bunch of people. The norm.” Tony thought it was a valid point, because he had seen the woman in front of him move trains. Fucking trains.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Piper took a step back, bracing herself. She was smart, and she knew that “talk” in this case meant get way up in your personal life. And she couldn’t have that. She didn’t want that. A secret is best kept with one person (excluding her friends but Piper was see through anyways). Any more than that and it got risky._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________As in, endangering her friends and last living relative risky. Which meant everything about this was a threat._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________From Ironman. And the Avengers. And SHIELD._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Piper wondered just how her heroes had gone from awesome to terrifying in the span of sixty seconds._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________What would they do if she said no? When she said no. I mean, she had rights - right?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Is a pinky promise good? Because I pinky promise to never go bat-shit insane and kill a bunch of people.” She held out her pinky, completely serious. Her promises were worth more than anything else she could offer. Anyone who knew Piper could testify to it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Tony paused. “Yeah… I don’t think Shield will be good with that. Let’s not make this hard, Spidergirl.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Piper paled - he was serious._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________She could outrun Ironman. She could totally outrun Ironman. No sweat. Nooooo problem. Her body began to shake._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“I-I’ve never hurt anyone.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Tony only blinked at the pleading voice, kind of irritated. The pinky promise had to have been a joke. Surely she understood at least a little bit._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Listen, we’re both adults here,” Piper almost laughed, “and regardless of whether you’ve hurt anyone or not, the legal aspects have to be sorted out. You’re lucky SHIELD hasn’t come after you already.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“I,” Piper had to go, she had to leave, “I can’t.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________And then she ran._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________And she dodged, a lot. The next two or so minutes of her life passed in blur of her swooping into alley ways to escape the iron hands of the person chasing her. And she felt hopeful - Not to mention, she could hear him cursing. Which, yeah, was pretty satisfying. Until it wasn’t. Because he was in fact cursing to someone.  
Multiple people actually._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Midair Tony managed to grab her arm, though his triumph was short lived._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Piper brought her foot up and under the joint in the arm holding onto her. Then, with immense grace and flexibility, proceeded to kick down on the suits joint – opening it, and flip over his head. Webbing to another roof top._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Shit, what the hell kind of steroids do you think she takes? Steve, a little help?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Steve, who was watching from below in one of the empty building’s alley ways hesitated, “Are you sure you can’t handle it? You know the harder this gets…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Tony knew very well. The harder it was to bring in the Spidergirl, the warier SHIELD became of her. But this wasn’t the time for pity. She had only brought this upon herself by not coming easily. They had offered her the easy route. _Though that kind of sucked, too. _She should have just taken it.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“Yes,” He hissed bounding after her, “I’m positive – this isn’t as easy as it looks. The girl’s like a damn piece of rubber or something.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“Alright, but Nat, “he called to the red-headed woman over his shoulder, “help us out a little bit.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________She nodded, and Steve watched Piper leap across roof tops, away from a flying Tony, and almost straight above his readying form._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________Piper, now, had forgotten all about her previous worries of other people being out to get her. Because dodging Ironman was more emotionally draining than anything. Because, she had definitely imagined meeting Ironman – actually meeting him (not being saved by him at a con). Who hadn’t? It’s just her fantasies never involved the man chasing after her like a cheetah chases a gazelle. With the intent to capture._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________And maybe above all else Piper felt wronged. Because she actually worked really hard _not _to hurt anyone, and they just assumed that she would.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________She understood the logic, she did. Just not the way they were acting on it. Couldn’t she just sign a contract, file some reports, or literally anything other than be interrogated? She didn’t get it, and she didn’t think she wanted to._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Right now, her only goal was to run. Keep running, until maybe he gave up for today. She had tried webbing her hero with what little time she had to reach her arm back and aim, but it hadn’t held. And piper had already been on patrol for upwards of five hours – meaning she didn’t have much web fluid to spare._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________So, she ran._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________She ran over countless roof tops – and seriously, how big was this neighborhood?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________She ran as if her heart wasn’t threatening to fall out of her throat from panic._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________And then,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________She ran face first into Captain America._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	2. Kidnapping and Shoulder-Snapping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piper looked at him in disbelief, because clearly they didn’t understand. Captain America and Ironman were _fighting_ her, and it kind of made her want to crawl in a hole to die. Or vomit. Either one was possible at this point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like it!

As soon as Captain America grabbed onto the illegal hero’s shoulders; he noticed the shaking.  
He noticed the fear.  
And he knew, without a doubt, that this was wrong. I mean, they had basically been assigned to capture her just to see if they could. And Steve found it ridiculous, because of course they could. They weren’t the Avengers for nothing.

“It’s okay-“ he tried.

Piper pushed against his hold, suddenly aware that he was much, much stronger than anyone else she had faced.

“I’d never hurt anyone.” Her voice shook, and Piper knew from the conflicted look on Captain America’s face ( _Captain Freaking America_ ), that it mattered. Her promise mattered – to him. Just not enough to let her be.

“I know, I know – “ She felt a sting in her neck, and she was thinking – thinking.

“So just tell everyone that in person at the tower.”

Tony was upon them now, watching the scene in confusion. He had assumed Spidergirl just didn’t want any attention, but she looked… scared. Oddly so. And it made him glad that Natasha had finally hit her with the tranquilizer dart, because the sooner this happened – the sooner she could see that it’s unavoidable. The only option they had. At least… that’s what he told himself.

Piper looked at him in disbelief, because clearly they didn’t understand. Captain America and Ironman were _fighting_ her, and it kind of made her want to crawl in a hole to die. Or vomit. Either one was possible at this point.

“I’m not stupid,” She relaxed herself as much as she could with the Adrenalin rushing through her veins – and to her relief, Captain America’s grip loosened. She fingered her web shooters.

“And I’m pretty sure,” Tony and Steve had half a second to brace themselves, “kidnapping is a crime!”

With the speed only a mutant spider kid could muster, she bent her wrist at angle and webbed Ironman’s feet to the ground, just before tucking up her knees – letting the grip Cap had on her shoulders hold her up. She brought up her legs with enough force to flip backwards and from his hands - landing in a crouch back on the ground. On which she started running.

Not a step in her pace did she feel another sting on the other side of her neck, and she brought her hand up to sooth it subconsciously. She pulled it back holding a small dart, and she then quickly grabbed another from the other previous sting in her neck.

 _They were trying to drug her_ – and her senses were too out of whack to know when. It wasn’t Steve or Tony, but someone else in The Avengers. Though she had no time to figure out who as she barrel rolled out of the way of Captain America’s grasp.

“Nat, I thought you tranq’ed her – “

“I did, Tony - twice.” And it wasn't easy, either. Spidergirl's movements we're fast and unpredictable most of the time, but Natasha could tell that her style was mainly defensive - so it only took a few lucky guesses.

There was a brief pause before Steve spoke up, previously busy trying to grab the girl without hurting her. But that was getting harder at this point; because she was fast, and she was strong. In fact, Steve could still feel an ache in his hands from when she ripped herself out of them.

“She must have an immunity or something, can you try again? It shouldn’t hurt her if that’s the case.”

Natasha thought for a moment, because really three of these could kill a grown person. And Nat knew that Spidergirl was small from seeing her stand next to Tony and Steve. For some reason, though, she felt off. Guilty even. Because from what she heard Spidergirl say to them, it was plain obvious she was overwhelmed. But then again, who wouldn’t be? Having the world’s top crime fighters try and kidnap you. Which really, that’s what this was at this point.

“What about War Machine? He’s still standing by.”

Steve’s reply was immediate and harsh.

“No, we can’t use any more people than this or we’ll have real issues. She’ll have real issues.”

“The point of the mission is to gauge her danger level, so we either bring in Rhodes, or we get a little rougher.” Tony’s tone was short and uneven, because he was still trying to get his feet loose from the ground without ripping them off.

“Just,” He prepared his thrusters, “shoot her with another one – I’ll take care of it. Steve, back me up.”

Natasha and Steve gave words of affirmation, and Piper felt a third sting in her neck.

She grabbed it briskly out of her neck, concerned that her Spidey sense hadn’t even tried to warn of that one. Whatever drugs the darts had in them, it was probably starting to affect her. She had tried sleeping pills and the like before, but they always sent her body into overdrive. She only hoped this would be different.

Right now though, things were slowing down. Her feet were moving faster than her surroundings and the floor blurred in and out from underneath her.  
She could see - She could see clearly. As long as she only looked in one direction. Which is why, with her peripheral vision completely blocked and her senses working against her, she jumped clumsily across another roof top – making it only half way.

Tony saw his opportunity, finally pushing his thrusters to full power and melting the web holding him to the ground, before darting after her – Captain America slightly behind. He could see the spider woman start to stumble slightly, but she wasn’t slowing down. However, this time, woozy or no – Tony wasn’t letting her get away.

Mid-jump he caught her by one of her shoulders, his other hand holding her bicep. Then he rammed them straight into the brick wall behind them – Thrusters blasting. And he wasn’t going to stop. Not until he was sure this was over, and not even when the wall began to crumble. Because Tony was frustrated and slightly tired – it was 12:30 in the morning and this stupid spider couldn’t just see the logical side of things and come peacefully. No one ever could.

Piper, whose world had gone from a single line of sight and turned black, had only opened her eyes when her brain realized that she wasn’t breathing. And that all the air had just been knocked right out of her lungs; into the crisp summer air.

She inhaled loudly and sharply, realizing over the loud - loud whirring and cracking of being crushed against a building, that all she could see and feel was white. White hot pain came from her shoulder and spread up the side of her neck and she could feel the bone in her shoulder move and grind in ways that it never should – and certainly never has, before.  
It was hard to break Piper Parker's bones, or dislocate them. But maybe it wasn’t so tough for Tony Stark.

Though it felt like an eternity, Piper reached blindly with her free arm – grasping and hitting at the billionaires suit of armor. Her thoughts were coming back, though they were fuzzy, and it was sort of like looking through a key-hole when she was able to see through the whiteness of the pain. Tearing and agonizing. Her only thought was to stop it.

“Hey!” Tony would have shifted his arm to hold her wrist instead of her shoulder had he thought of it before it was too late.

“Don’t, don’t do tha-!”

His thrusters died and he fell like a brick from the Eiffel Tower.

Piper had reached for his armor and pulled whatever her fingers could grip, and then she pulled some more. Coming back with fistfuls of wiring.  
Important fistfuls of wiring.  
Hence why she was now holding herself up with her good arm and her feet – placed flat on the wall. And she wanted to cry, maybe even would have – at her rotten, rotten situation. Had she not realized that Tony Stark was free falling towards the ground in a metal coffin. From the top of a 10 story building.

With his very human body that would probably die from a fall like that.

Without a thought Piper shot her web shooters out to catch him, cursing when only wisps came out. So, with no other options left, she did what any other sane person would do.

She rammed her feet into the wall she was standing on and pushed as hard as she could, sending herself flying towards the ground. Steve and Natasha, who had only been far enough away to spectate - we’re closer now, and watched in awe as the scene unfolded in front of them.

Piper flipped just before hitting the ground, landing on her feet. And not a second later the tin can of a man crashed into her waiting arms. She dropped to her knees abruptly and let out a cry, because she could have sworn something in her arm just _ripped_. She cursed herself for not just trying to catch him with only her good arm, because it probably would have hurt less. But she hadn’t had time to think about it. And she didn't now either.

“Holy shit,” Tony exhaled from beneath her. And she snapped out of her pity party, mumbling a quick sorry before scrambling back to her feet. Arm dangling uselessly at her side. 

She couldn’t see or sense anything around her, and she was left yet again with the only option of running. Getting away. Because this sucked, and her hero had just rammed her into a wall, and now Captain America was probably chasing her.

And then, just as she reached the top of the building they had just fell from - something crashed into her; throwing her into the hard concrete of the rooftop. And white danced across her eyes again. She never even noticed the sting of a fourth dart in her neck.

Captain America and Black Widow were surprised to say the least, when instead of incapacitating Tony, she had thrown herself underneath him and caught him. And they realized that that may have been why she tried to shoot web at him in the first place when he fell.

She didn’t want him to get hurt.

Steve would have reflected about how this was just the plain Spidergirl they had seen in the videos and reports, leaving very few injuries on civilians and criminals, but then she was sprinting up the wall again. And it was his job to stop her.

He obviously blind-sighted her when he tackled her, because there was no resistance. Just a high-pitched cry of pain, and Steve grimaced – because he didn’t think he had hit her that hard. But then she was fighting him again, and he found it unbelievably hard to keep her arms pinned to her chest. He ended up laying partly on her arms to help keep them still, calling someone to restrain the rest of her.

“Someone get her legs!”

He said that just as War Machine flew atop the building carrying Tony by the pits of his arms. He looked serious and could only mumble a curse to himself as Rhodey went to grab her jerking legs.

“Holy-“ He put his knees on one leg and arms on the other, “how strong is this chick?”

Steve would have made a comment about it, had a whine not come from underneath him. One that kind of broke his heart.

“G-get off,” Piper sounded almost as if she was begging. And she kind of was, because she had no idea what was happening anymore. There was a pressure on her legs and so much pressure on her chest, and all she could see was the conflicted face of Captain America surrounded by moving clouds of blackness. She vaguely wondered if he always looked like that.

“I can’t do that unless you stop-“

“M-my shoulder. Get off… my shoulder… please,” She gasped, eyes searching the world around her frantically. All she could feel was the grinding and the ripping and the fire and the _exploding._

Steve furrowed his brows in confusion, looking down beneath his chin at the small girls shoulders. Seeing nothing at first, he thought maybe it was a fluke, but then he looked closer… and it was not pretty.

Natasha who was looking where Steve was grimaced.

Steve let up the pressure on her shoulder, and he and Rhodey were surprised to find that her struggles loosened a little. Though it was still far more than an average man could handle, if a superhuman and super suit were struggling to keep a grip.

Piper sighed – feeling incredibly glad to be free of the extra pain, not noticing her grip on reality start to slip away.

“Th-thanks.” She whispered and looked around her in wonder. Had colors always been this bright?

Tony stood next to Natasha, looking down at the Spidergirl’s widening eye lenses. He could see her shoulder clearly from here; stuck out at an odd angle from her body – bleeding through her suit. He definitely hadn’t meant to do that. Just like he hadn’t meant to do a lot of things on this mission, but here they were. And he felt… dare he say it - bad.  
Because he could still hear the sound she made as she saved him from the nasty fall. But he shook his head and allowed himself no time to dwell on it here. They were all heroes here. And it wasn’t always glamorous.

Tony was about to ask if the tranquilizers had finally worked, but the question was answered for him.

“Capain Merica, sir… you – you are so much – so much heavier than… you look,” Piper drawled out, completely confused to see Captain America above her all of a sudden. Piper’s mind had lost nearly sense of context; but it really didn’t need it at the moment. In fact, it would continue to leave her more and more as the minutes passed.

The team looked at her, amused and extremely relieved. Steve and Rhodey were able to let their guard down some as they waited for the tremor like movements of her body to stop. Piper hadn’t noticed them – she didn’t even know she was moving at all, actually.

“Is this…” Steve looked up to a frowning Black Widow, “Normal?”

Natasha wasn’t quite sure, because the dose that she had shot her with was capable of giving elephants heart attacks if used at the wrong moment, but she saw no signs of anything seriously wrong. Shaking wasn't serious.

“No, but nothing seems to be really wrong either. We’ll just have to wait it out and have Bruce see.” It wasn’t like they could undo it. “It’ll probably leave when she goes unconscious-“

Piper gasped, shocking the present members of the team and sending them still.

“Is that… Black Widow?” Piper was in fact, feeling extremely excited to have noticed the Natasha Romanov standing above her. Concerned looks aside.

“You’re so… cool. And you’re a spider - I’m a spider. Not as cool of a spider… but is anyone?” Piper took a second to think long and hard about it, as Natasha couldn’t help but smile. Rhodey even laughed. Spidergirl was endearing, to say the least.

“No, no Spider is.” Spidergirl concluded. Deciding that normal spiders were really terrible, and she was the only known spider human…

“Is she good? Are we good? Will she ever stop talking and pass out?”

“We should be fine to move her now, Tony.” Steve deduced by looking at the rolling head beneath him. She wasn’t shaking so badly anymore either. The super soldier was relieved at that; wanting this whole thing to be over with as soon as possible. 

“Woah!”

Everyone again looked at Spidergirl in confusion.

“It’s Captain ‘Merica! That’s… That’s so cool.”

Tony sighed, stopping the guilt trip that Spidergirl’s childish slurs were going to send them all on.

“All right, off we go. Steve, pick her up. Now. Let’s go. Up.” He waived his hands in a dramatic lifting motion. Steve and Rhodey both slowly got off of the red and blue clad super hero, letting go only long enough for Steve to gather her small body into his arms. Pipers head fell back.

But her mind was somewhere else. Captain America was here, and she loved Captain America. He was insanely cool and badass - not her favorite - but close. And then her swirling mind found itself wanting to share this with someone, as it always did.

Piper hated doing things alone. Though she told herself it didn’t matter.  
Anyways, there was only one person she could think of who liked Captain America more than her.

“Aunt May loves you…” Steve adjusted his grip, careful of her torn apart shoulder. Rhodey and Tony had already flown off of the roof, Natasha walking beside Steve – studying the rambling Spider. Amused. They took the stairs down, being extra careful. They then exited the winding building to find a black limo waiting for them.

“But…” Piper mumbled.

Steve waited for everyone to get in the car, about to hand the hallucinating hero to whoever had the most room.

Tony barked in apposition, “No! No way! I’m not holding the freaky strong Spider-chick.”

Steve sighed, not wanting to make the awkward attempt at shuffling inside with someone in his arms. It was hard enough to fit in cars with his larger than average frame. Adding another person was just dumb.

He sighed, “Tony –“

“She won’t hurt you; she doesn’t even know up from down at this point. But I guess if you’re really that scared I can take her.” Natasha but in, the voice of reason always finding its way from her mouth. Rhodey couldn’t take her, since he was flying to the tower. It was only logical that Tony take her.

Tony grumbled, hesitantly moving. It was then Piper’s brain was finally able to finish her sentence.

“… I think it’s just ‘cause… ‘cause she thinks you’re cute.”

Tony frowned and Steve laughed softly.

“What?”

Natasha spoke through a smile. “She was explaining to us why her aunt, I think it was, liked Cap here so much.”

Tony raised his brow, “Nice. That is nice for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading!  
> This was a hard chapter to write because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do first, but It's moving. Next chapter I think we'll finally unmask Spidergirl!  
> I'm sorry Piper! It's gotta happen. For the angst. And then the comedic relief supplied by Clint.  
> Anyways, tell me what you think! I appreciate everyone's comments and kudos very much. It makes me want to write a little more.


	3. We Had Two Choices and We Should Have Chosen The Third One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But this was the price vigilantes paid – heroes or no. They we’re criminals when it came to the law. So why was this so hard?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Finally, Tony scooted back into his seat which faced the one Natasha was seated in. Steve crawled in next to her as Tony shuffled the hero in his arms – increasingly aware of how terrible her shoulder looked. Spidergirl only blinked beneath her mask, caught in a sea of wonder.

Tony was about to make a comment about how light the humanoid was, until their driver felt the need to interrupt.

“Wow, was it really that much trouble? I’ve been waiting for a solid 45 minutes – you guys said like twenty! I’m starving now!”

Natasha looked at Clint with an unimpressed expression on her face. He was right, though. They hadn’t expected it to be nearly as hard as it was to take in Spidergirl. Especially since the hero had only been active for about three months.

“She’s fast. Now drive, will you?” She wanted to get Spidergirl’s injuries checked out as soon as possible.

“Sure, fine – it’s alright. Thanks for waiting here in a dark alley way, Clint. You’re so kind, Clint. “ He mocked and put the car in gear. “Why’re you here Tony? Did you lose your suit again?” He inquired.

Tony grimaced, he hadn’t lost it last time. Just misplaced it.

“No, Spidergirl here broke it. Mid-air, might I add. I think my life is still flashing before my eyes.” Really, it was. Tony hated falling from any height, not to mention so suddenly like that. He really should have seen it coming.

Steve stirred next to him, “…She caught you.”

The billionaire looked at him, and their eyes locked. Tony really didn’t want to think about it. He had messed up; and she had saved his ass. Great.

“…She did.” Tony looked down at the hero in his arms. “I get why they think she could be dangerous, I mean she’s a freak of nature. But…”

“But she could have fought back. A lot harder, it seems.”

Steve and Tony looked at Natasha, thinking the same thing.

“What do you mean?” Clint called from the front seat, apparently overhearing their conversation.

“I imagine it takes a lot of strength to pull apart one of Tony’s suits,” Natasha looked at said man for conformation – he nodded. “And she did – effortlessly it seemed. So that would mean she was holding back whenever she did have to hit Steve or Tony.”

Steve thought about the notion. When she kicked Tony she probably could have torn his arm right off, and Steve had grabbed her more than once. But she stayed on the defensive. 

Which meant that Nat’s guess was probably correct.

“That should calm SHIELD if we tell them that. I imagine that as long as Spidergirl is in her right mind then there’s nothing to worry about.” Steve was almost positive, but he also understood that anything could happen. People could break, and that meant Spidergirl, too. However, SHIELD knew that.

“The only problem is how over-cautious they can be, then.” Natasha said thoughtfully; she didn’t think Spidergirl seemed too dangerous either. But this was the price vigilantes paid – heroes or no. They we’re criminals when it came to the law.

Clint made it out of the narrow blocks of the neighborhood and into the brightly lit streets of the city. He drove at a steady pace, both hands on the wheel. The traffic steadily grew around them.

Piper, who’s head hung limply off the arm of Tony, now only had a slight consciousness to her. As they drove along the streets of Queens and into New York City, her only view was of the window above her. And even that was growing foggier, but she could see the street lights shining through. Brighter than she had ever seen them.

Piper broke the silence that had grown; filling it without even thinking.

“Ts’ a shooting Star!” She breathed, and then her good hand clumsily came to grasp at the face of her captor. Not a thought went through her head about who it was that was holding her. Just that someone was. “You godda make a wish!”

Tony leaned away from her grasp and grabbed her hand; which went limp as soon as he touched it. He looked in the direction she was looking and saw nothing but the lights of the city flying past them.

“Yeah…” The others looked at the two in amusement. “Why don’t you make one? You need it more than I do.” Tony eyed the girl in bewilderment.

“I wish… that you’d make a wish.”

He snorted, smirking. “Nice one Spidergirl. Hate to burst your bubble but it’s not happening.” He didn’t wish on stars. Least of all street lights.

Piper frowned – was it because she said her wish out loud? She forgot that you weren’t supposed to do that… She said it in her head again, and waited. Eventually forgetting what she was waiting for. She felt tired.

Clint was hit with an abrupt thought. “Oh,” He blurted loudly and suddenly: remembering something. He promptly dug around in the passenger seat, pulling out a red backpack and tossing it back. Natasha caught it.

“I got this like you asked. Damn thing took forever to get off the wall – you guys owe me a new knife, by the way. It’s covered in that freaky web stuff and it will not come off.”

“Did you look inside?” Natasha asked, rolling the bag in her hands. It wasn’t too heavy.

“I wanted to,” Clint admitted easily, “but I figure it be more fun if we did it together. As a family. You know, you kids these days just never have the time for tradition.”

The three in the back seat could only roll their eyes at his antics and look at the bag. Curious.

“You going to open up the bag or what? That or I’m taking off the mask. It’s practically begging me to.” The billionaire coerced impatiently. He couldn’t stop the officiousness building up inside him over the identity of Spidergirl. The character of the girl was engaging to say the least.

“Tony. You are not taking off the mask.” Steve bit.

“Yeah, why not?” Tony knew why, of course. Privacy and all that, but he doubted SHIELD would leave that intact at all. He just didn’t see the point in hiding behind a mask, he thought it seemed cowardly. Tony had never had the chance to hide from fame and criticism; he hadn’t really tried. So as to why Spidergirl seemed so hell-bent on it he couldn’t understand.

It didn’t matter anymore, he supposed.

“You know full well how that would be wrong. We already kidnapped her, and now we’re going to take away her dignity, too?” Steve’s tone was hard; incredulous. Sure, he was curious too. But he knew that people often wore masks to hide scars or other insecurities, and they had no right to intrude on that. They had already done… whatever this was. It was enough.

Natasha spoke, before the superheroes could argue any further.

“SHIELD is going to take off the mask.” She looked at them both, “You know that, and if you didn’t you’re only kidding yourself. I don’t like this either…” She thought for a second, “How old do you think she is? From what we’ve just experienced.” She was starting to think that Spidergirl was younger than they thought. And if that was true… Well let’s just say Natasha wouldn’t be pleased.

She added, “If SHIELD was wrong about her age, then we may have more freedom than if the mission was exactly as they said.”

Tony and Steve thought about what she meant. They all felt that this mission had been necessary in the beginning, but now it was beginning to feel… cruel. Maybe it was because they injured her, but it didn’t change how they felt. So if they did have a say in what happens to Spidergirl, it would perhaps settle their stomachs.

Though they all knew the hard truth of the matter. SHIELD was tasked with keeping the earth safe from unearthly beings; it was only expected of them to be cautious of Spidergirl. The way they went about it, though – it was over-kill. Especially if the subject was innocent. Or in this case, presumably the age of a college student who might not know any better.

So what Natasha was saying, they realized, was that SHIELD had given them the mission of finding and securing the vigilante known as Spidergirl in order to gauge her danger level. However, they also said that Spidergirl was in her late twenties to early thirties. If they were given false information about their target, then The Avengers may just have some leeway. Should they decide to investigate Spidergirl on their own.

Tony at the very least owed Spidergirl that much for injuring her.

“So, you’re saying that SHIELD may not have to be given her identity – even if we have it?” Steve asked, hopeful at the premise.

“Well, how old do you think she is? There’s no way she’s thirty.” Natasha said coolly, sitting up and propping the backpack in her hands. “Maybe we look through the bag first, see what we find. And if it really is incriminating Spidergirl will be left to deal with SHIELD on her own.” If that were the case after all, then she deserved it.

Tony sighed. That really didn’t sound too bad. It wasn’t like he wanted vigilantes to suffer, he just wanted them to know what they were doing. He had dealt with a few bad apples and it wasn’t easy. But Spidergirl had already proven her conscientiousness by not harming any of them despite her obvious fear.

“Alright, but at some point the mask is coming off.”

Steve pointed a look at him, “Tony, we can’t just…”

“-Don’ take off… my mask.”

Steve stopped mid reprimand at the soft voice, hearing it perhaps only by chance.

“Shit, is she still awake?” Clint called from the front, thoroughly confused. He could only hear the louder bits over the traffic outside, but he knew that nobody here could just stop Steve’s spiel by whispering. “I thought you would have sedated her, Nat.”

Natasha sighed, “I did, four times. Obviously it’s taking a while.”

“Jesus, I guess she’s a lot like Cap, then – right?”

“It would seem so,” Steve affirmed, but he wondered if even he could have handled such a dose from the tranquilizers. His size would help, but if it were left to just his advanced biology… it was a close call.

Tony but in, much more focused on just why the hell a secret identity was so important. Especially to such a small-time hero.

“Why?” Tony spoke loudly and clearly to the Spider hero in his arms. Steve went to stop him, because she wouldn’t even remember this conversation, but Piper was already answering.

Piper could vaguely make out glimmers of shapes as her eye-lids hung loosely open. There was a deep sort of anxiety winding itself up and around her insides, though it felt far-away, like static. But she could make out words and conversations, her mind had nothing else to do but try and process them. However at the moment, she had no idea why some things being said made her speak.

She didn’t even know what she was saying.

“People ‘ill use… they’ll use my… face…. To find my friends.” Her eyes slipped shut and she breathed softly, “Gotta’ protect my frie…. My friends.” And then she fell away somewhere dark and empty and deeply unsettling.

The silence after she spoke was full and awkward. Though it only lasted a few moments, it was all Tony needed to feel the guilt creep up his spine. He had assumed, wrongfully, that she wore the mask only to avoid the pressure that heroes dealt with. But he hadn’t even considered the other obvious reason.  
Spidergirl probably doesn’t have a bunch of superhuman friends or million dollar tech to rely on. If people were to use someone against her… both that someone and her would be helpless.

“Her identity is a liability… That makes a lot more sense.” Natasha noted gravely. Everyone in this car knew full well the danger being a hero puts on your loved ones. Heck, Clint had to hide his family.

“That explains why she was so reluctant to go with us, then.”

Tony looked at Steve, regretful.

“We had no other choice.”

Steve would have argued the point, because they had. They could have not done the mission; but they didn’t have a reason to until now. Until they saw just how harmless and innocent Spidergirl was. But, Steve had a chance to call it quits before this started. Though It wouldn’t help anymore. The only thing left to do was figure out just how much of a potential threat this Spidergirl might be, and if she really turns out to be harmless – they’ll all be glad they found her before SHIELD did. Hopefully.

“Well, we better figure this out quick. SHIELD will expect affirmation by the morning, and she definitely won’t be awake before then to answer any questions. So, it’s up to this bag and Bruce to figure out a relative age.” The calm and collected Black Widow assessed and sorted through their situation with a haste she hadn’t expected. She was anxious to find out more about Spidergirl. They all were. The thought donned on her that they could have just asked Spidergirl herself, but she was under the influence. It wouldn’t have been right, she supposed. If any of this was right at all she wasn’t sure.

“Alright,” Steve pressed on the light above their heads and Tony grimaced at the illuminated sight of blood on his shirt, “Let’s see it.”

The thought of what lay beneath the mask clung to the air, though. That there was still something they were missing about Spidergirl and her mysterious self, and they couldn’t shake the feel of it.

Natasha pulled the black zipper and opened the bag up wide. A sweet smell wafted out of the bag; similar to that of cookies. She peered inside, seeing a shiny surface reflect itself back at her, concealing the rest of the bag at first glance.

“There’s…,” her hand came back from the bag holding fistfuls of shimmery plastic; a logo of some sort peaking from its folds, “a ton of granola bars. Well… wrappers.” She pulled out only two uneaten ones, placing them beside her. Natasha went to inspect the bag further.

“Wait, did I just hear granola bars? Do I smell granola bars?” Clint queried, an unbelieving tone to his voice. “Do not tell me you’ve been hiding food from me. Your friend. Your escort. Where’s the food? Where is it, Nat? I will turn this car around-“

“God, someone just give him the damn granola bar. Or a piece of leather to chew on. Please, before he goes savage or something,” Tony begged only half satirically.

Steve picked up the two bars from his seat next to Natasha, reaching over the headrests on his left to drop them in Clint’s lap. The archer smiled widely. “Thank you,” He acknowledged, ripping the snack from its home seconds later. “And it’s chocolate chip!” the archer exclaimed, humming in satisfaction. “Nice.”

“Wait a second,” Tony said, looking at Steve incredulously, “He can steal the Spider-chick’s food, and I can’t even ask a question? What the hell, Steve. Favorites much?”

Cap looked at him and Natasha continued to search through the bag, pulling out a half empty water bottle. He raised his brow, “You literally just told me to feed him, Tony. And it’s hardly the same thing as interrogating someone when they can’t even think properly, not to mention-“

“Alright, alright, alright. I get it. I said feeding the ape leather was an option, too. The legal one, really.” Tony rebounded, trying not to jostle the injured Spidergirl in his arms. He had caused her enough trouble as it was, and as for Cap.... Sometimes Steve didn’t quite pick up on the humor in his words, and Tony determined that it wasn’t his fault that the super soldier’s humor was about seventy years out of date.

“In case you haven’t noticed, we kind of get a free pass when it comes to breaking laws,” Natasha disregarded their argument with a monotone statement, once again drawing their attention. She fingered a fabric inside the bag, pulling it out by its hem. It was red in shade and Nat repositioned it so that she could see it properly. “Well… It appears you have a fan, Tony.” She flipped the small t-shirt around, allowing him to see the Ironman symbol plastered on the front.

Tony drew his hand out from where it lay beneath Spider girl’s legs, dragging it over his face with a sigh. He wanted desperately to play it off like he normally would, because Tony Stark had plenty of fans – one more wasn’t anything. But when it’s the vigilante that he just brutally kidnapped… he kind of wishes it was Cap on that shirt. And that was saying something.

“We’ll see about that when this is over. In fact, I’d burn that shirt if I we’re her.” He groaned, trying to get himself together. “Please tell me there’s like plans to destroy man-kind in there or something.”

Natasha doubted it.

“But… what kind of vigilante idolizes other superheroes like that?” Steve voiced, not expecting any vigilante to just wear other hero’s merchandise. Steve knew that usually vigilantes were too prideful to do such a thing.

Tony looked at him pointedly, “Well, it doesn’t matter now. I doubt Spidergirl is going to be doing anymore idolizing, Steve. But maybe her aunt will still think you’re adorable. Does that make you feel any better? Hmm?” He queried restlessly. God, if they didn’t get this over with and send the identified Spidergirl on her way soon, Tony was going to have an aneurysm. Or Spider girl’s arm would fall off, and Tony really didn’t want a law suit.

Cap straightened at his words, confounded. “That’s not what I meant, Tony.” He clarified, looking for the rest of his words carefully. “I just meant that it was unexpected for a hero to idolize other heroes. Especially one who seemed fixed on avoiding us. You know, because Spidergirl obviously has a very ideological way of doing things. It’s just unusual, that’s all.”

Tony understood, he just didn’t care. Obviously, anyone who idolizes him doesn’t know how terrible he really is. And he had come to terms with that; with disappointing people over and over because he was never good enough. But if he ruined another hero because of it… it just wasn’t right. He didn’t want to be the cause of Spidergirl’s plummet into villainy. He stopped himself with those thoughts though, because being a hero was tough and if Spidergirl couldn’t handle the truth, then she wasn’t ready to be a hero.

And Tony considered that ruling out the weaklings.

“So far, nothing about Spidergirl is usual. Look.” Natasha beckoned, setting down a pair of light blue jeans atop the t-shirt and what looked to be a small medical kit. She lifted a small, brightly wrapped box from the bag, “The only things left in this pocket are this gift, and a card.” Tony and Steve noticed the blue birthday card in the pile of clothes and wrappers, now.

“And the other pocket?” Steve inquired, an upward tilt in his voice.

Natasha slipped the heavier object from the bag. “A book. On quantum physics.” She explained, holding the cover up for them to see. It had the title in large bold letters scrawled across the front. “And an Avengers pencil case, but this proves our theory.”

Natasha finished, putting the book down in her lap.

“When would someone take quantum physics?” Steve asked. He had absolutely no idea how the school systems spread their classes now a-days. He assumed it was in college at some point, but he wasn’t sure.

Tony thought about it, because he had most certainly learned about that early on in college, but he was younger than most of the kids there. A lot younger.  
“Second year of college, usually.” He answered.

Steve’s eyes widened, “So that would make Spidergirl… what, twenty?” Cap hoped that wasn’t the case… A twenty year old was still just a kid in his mind, and he granted that he was young, too when he started. But it was for different circumstances and it still felt a lot like kidnapping.

“This is good. It means that we get to investigate Spidergirl on our own with less trouble from SHIELD - If that is the course of action we take. So far, her bag checks out.” Nat stated.

Tony’s gaze hung on Natasha, “So… there’s nothing else?” This was really happening, then. The only thing left to do was secure Spidergirl as non-threatening. Which meant getting her to cooperate.

Natasha dug around in the bag once more, just to be sure. The traffic around them dimmed as she did, meaning they we’re probably about to enter the parking garage. Her fingers brushed something. “Wait,” she pulled out the object quickly, “it’s – “Before she could finish she dropped it back in the bag, pulling the rest of the discarded items with it.

“What?” Steve asked.

She looked at him for a moment, “…It was a granola bar.”

Well… Tony and Steve couldn’t help but feel as if that were a little anti-climactic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I so lied about Piper's identity being revealed this chapter I am so sorry! I planned on doing it and then my fingers just decided to type endless dialogue instead. But next chapter, for real! I'm already half-done with it, and things are happening so...  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)  
> And thank you so much for the support! I loved reading everyone's comments. I always do - you guys are hilarious. And incredibly sweet.  
> Thank you so so much for reading!! <3


	4. Is It Youth... or An Incredible Set Of Genes?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Wow, we really managed to pick the cutest, most harmless vigilante on the face of the planet. I’m choosing next time, guys.” Clint yammered, placing his arms akimbo. He actually found it almost funny, that of all the people they could have investigated, Spidergirl was the one deemed most threatening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is way longer than usual and my eyes are bleeding from looking it over, but I hope you guys enjoy it!

The car pulled to a stop and Clint opened his door. “We’re here. Bruce is probably waiting,” He remarked as he stepped out. Natasha slid across the seat and pulled open the door, taking the bag with her as she excited. Steve went next, standing ready to grab the injured vigilante from his teammate.

Tony frowned in concentration. Lifting Spidergirl was no problem with her weight, but he didn’t want to move her arm in case of further injury. He decided to grasp her forearm gently and settle it on her stomach, ensuring that it wouldn’t move when he gave her to Steve.

“Shit,” Clint sounded, looking over Caps shoulder at the dim picture of Spidergirl – still with Tony. “What the hell did you guys do?” He could see the blood on Tony’s shirt and a twisted picture of the vigilante’s shoulder. Clint was surprised to say the least, because he hadn’t expected them to have to injure her. He was actually hoping this would be kind of fun, meeting a vigilante and all that had sounded pretty refreshing. He figured he must have missed something. 

Tony growled at the archer as Cap carefully brought Spidergirl into his hold. “Just shut your mouth, birdbrain,” He spat and stepped out of the car - slamming the door with his eyes narrowed straight ahead. He didn’t need to be reminded of just how absolutely terrible this was going so far. Misplaced anger aside.

Clint raised a brow at the billionaire’s outburst, not very surprised. Tony was a hot-head, so the name-calling wasn’t anything new. He just wasn’t sure why everyone seemed to be so tense, because he had assumed catching Spidergirl was a good thing. He looked to Natasha for clarification as they started to walk. She noticed and tried to explain briefly while walking ahead of her teammates.

“Spidergirl was harder to… capture than we had originally thought, so Tony here may have gone a little over-board in his frustration.” She pressed the button on the elevator, adding the rest before said man got upset. “That was to be expected of this mission, however, we don’t think Spidergirl should be handed over to SHIELD without us investigating first.”

They filed into the elevator, the musky smell of Tony’s garage leaving them.

Clint furrowed his brows, “Why? She’s a criminal. You guys do know that, right?” He wasn’t at all understanding why they would decide to cause themselves so much trouble. SHIELD usually handled things like this, anyways. It seemed totally uncalled for in his mind.

Steve decided to answer the man’s question instead. “She’s not a threat to anyone and we’ve already decided to act accordingly. We think it’s best to perform an investigation ourselves, considering it would be cruel to put her through more trouble than this.” The frown that stretched across his face showed his displeasure clearly. “I’m not throwing her into jail for saving lives.”

Clint blinked at him, taken aback. “What do you mean? You’re – we’re just going to throw SHIELD under the bus or something?” This was weird for Clint, really weird. Spidergirl may save lives, but without the proper precautions she was still very much a danger to society. That was the problem with vigilantes: the public sees them do whatever they want, and then everyone thinks that it’s okay. It’s total anarchy. Clint knew everyone here understood that, so he was having a hard time getting the picture.

“They we’re wrong - we we’re wrong. The spider chick’s only like twenty, and her character shows no sign of going insane considering she seemed absolutely terrified of us. Though I’m sure SHIELD decided to ignore that bit; for safety.” Tony resolved and mocked the last part bitterly.

“But… you guy’s asked her to talk first, right? Even a newbie would be scared if you just went in there trying to kidnap her.” Clint reasoned, not fazed by her age. He considered twenty to be an adult, maybe not become-a-super-hero-by-myself adult, but an adult non-the-less. He also wouldn’t find her fear strange in the slightest if they hadn’t just plain spoken to her first. He wasn’t sure why she didn’t come with them in the first place if that wasn’t the case.

Natasha answered before Tony could bust a cap, stepping out of the elevator with the rest of them as it dinged. “Tony tried to explain the situation to her, but she freaked out and ran for it. We had no other choice; she’s serious about the secret identity thing. For liability reasons, apparently.” Nat trusted her best friend to understand, but she also knew the dangers of vigilantes and that she personally didn’t agree with them. However, they haven’t proven to be much of a problem lately, and they had plenty of other criminals to deal with. Ones that actually hurt people.

They turned a corner in the white hallway, reaching a glass set of doors. “Well, who cares? She’ll get over it.” Clint offered, opening the doors so that Tony and Natasha could step through. Seriously, Clint thought, SHIELD wouldn’t just keep her in jail unless she actually were a danger. Steve, however, stopped mid-stride in the door way to look at him; stern.

“That would be wrong, Clint. You should know that,” and Cap wondered how many times he would have to say that today as he moved forward with the girl again, making a decision. “We’ll wait for her to wake up and ask her to take the mask off. Then, we can go from there.” He maneuvered through the steel tables inhabiting the lab, each containing different types of medical equipment. The white granite of the floor shone clear beneath them as they approached another set of glass doors. Clint shrugged, throwing his hands up in defense.

“Whatever!” He muttered, letting the door of the med-bay close behind him. The room they we’re in held a single steel table at its center, cabinets and shelving of the same material lining the walls. The wall opposite the door was completely glass, and the curtains were left open to show the sparkling view of the city. Steve could have sworn the body in his arms stirred a little when they entered, but he dismissed it as his own body twitching.

Piper’s nose however, scrunched tight at the heavy smell of anti-septic in the room. Though neither she nor the others noticed.

“You’re here.” A man commented, standing unsure at the table in the room’s center. He studied the tense atmosphere of the team, considering the injury on Spidergirl to be the source. The man was in the middle of placing bandages and the like on a small bench just left of the operating table. Though it had never been used as such, since the Avengers usually operated in a different part of the medical bay.

“How… did you manage that?” The man, whose eyes had immediately been drawn to the brightly clad vigilante asked. He set a roll of gauze down on the table, walking over to Captain America as soon as he did. “Seriously, how?”

Tony groaned, “Bruce, it was an accident. She was ridiculous!” He took a place on one side of the table while huffing, as Steve Strode to the other side.

“Should I lay her down?” Steve asked, looking at the befuddled Avenger in question, not knowing if he should or not. It occurred to him that Bruce often worked on arm related injuries while the patient was sitting upright, so he wasn’t sure if he would try and do that now. Contrary to his thoughts, though, Bruce nodded.

“Yeah, just be careful.” Bruce could see how it looked from where he was, and already multiple diagnoses were running through his head. He sighed, face scrunched in worry. Rhodey had briefly told him of the situation upon his return before leaving again, and Bruce didn’t know what to think. At the briefing they had concluded that no problems were likely to arise in speaking to Spidergirl, but Bruce had barely considered the scenario that presented itself before him now.

He gave Tony a flat look.

“So, what’s the situation? Is SHIELD going to pick her up in the morning?” He grabbed scissors off of the table and cut upwards of the fabric from her wrist, slowly dragging the scissors to her collar bone. He was precise in his movements, not wanting to cut Spider girl’s skin. At the moment, Bruce had no reason to feel any specific way about Spidergirl – except maybe a little curious. So though he did his best to not hurt her any, he hadn’t the mind to feel pity.

Steve answered, crossing his arms in thought. “We’ve decided to investigate her ourselves since we’ve already decided she isn’t a risk to the public’s helath, and we just to make sure she understands the value of staying that way. We’ll tell SHIELD that she’s all good to go if that proves to be the case.” Bruce stopped his cutting, just as he was about to pull the fabric apart to reveal what’s underneath.

“So she’s not being arrested? Are you sure she’s not a threat?” He speculated cautiously, knowing full well how lucky he was to not be in SHIELD’s prison. After destroying city buildings and injuring people on accident, it had been a close call. 

Tony griped, wondering if the only way for Bruce and Clint to understand was to talk to her. Maybe then they would see how much Spidergirl could pull on your heartstrings. “It doesn’t matter if we’re sure or not. The only reason we’re deciding this now is because we expected her to come peacefully and not cause a whole freaking issue, but here we are. We never would have agreed to detaining the stupid insect had we known how absolutely harmless she was.” He took a breath, “We’ll find out who she is and then pretend this never happened.”

Bruce looked at him, face mirroring the disbelief that he felt “So you guys… feel bad? Is that it?” He sounded, voice lofty.

Tony frowned at the assumption, wanting to deny the truth of it, but Natasha spoke before he could. “She didn’t want to fight us, and she didn’t want to hurt us either,” Natasha thought back to the scene in the alley when Spidergirl could have very easily let Tony die. “She was scared, too. Not to mention,” She lifted up her arm which was supporting Spidergirl’s bag, “She’s got a bunch of our merch in here. She’s probably just following any example we set.” And Natasha felt it was safe to assume that was the case.

The strongest Avenger’s face melted into understanding - and slight fear. “So, you’re telling me this whole thing was pointless and that it’s even more important that I fix her up,” He pulled at his shirt collar. “We just kidnapped someone under completely false theories and pre-tenses?” He criticized, completely aghast.

“Yes, Bruce, we did. Try and keep up, will you?” Tony countered bitterly, eyes landing on the vigilante in front of him. “We don’t have all morning.”

Bruce swallowed thickly and rectified his posture. Tony was right, Bruce’s questions were wasting time, but he granted himself that he had every right to be shocked by what he heard. Spidergirl was supposed to come easily, and if she didn’t then she was supposed to fight them with all she had. Not hold back and get herself hurt; the thought was ridiculous. And Bruce realized that he held a large part of fixing this mess on his shoulders. There was no doubt that Spidergirl shouldn’t have gotten injured if she wasn’t fighting back, so that was where the problem lie.

“Alright, I’ll check out the shoulder first. Unless you think you might have hit her head hard enough to concuss?” He questioned, hoping that the shoulder was the extent of the damage. He hadn’t gotten a proper look at it, yet, but he was itching to now. Mostly because he had the full story, and Spidergirl definitely didn’t seem to deserve this. Bruce had heard of Spidergirl and it was always good news, so when the mission had come up they had all left it at: _If she’s good then she’ll come and if she’s not then she won’t._ Meaning it wasn’t their fault if Spidergirl turned into a problem, but it wasn’t that easy.

Tony paled, mind going back to that situation. He cleared his throat guiltily, and Natasha couldn’t help her amusement.

“She was slammed against a brick wall hard enough to break it. That’s also what happened to her shoulder, so I assume that’s what you meant by possibly concussed…” Natasha trailed off from her spot beside Tony, not realizing how bad that had sounded until it left her head. Really, they sounded cruel.

Bruce’s mouth dropped, “What the hell? She’s like half the size of you people!” He criticized loudly, face paling. If Spidergirl were any normal person, he was sure she would have been dead. He reasoned that they wouldn’t have done such a thing had she been a normal person, but the facts still stood.

Tony groaned, exasperated.

Natasha spoke up from beside Bruce, who was at the head of the table. “Maybe we should just get back to fixing her?” Her question was rhetorical, and she hadn’t managed to hold back the bite in her tone. Natasha knew the blame game wouldn’t work here, and she had no intention of playing it.

Bruce shook his head to clear it, “Right, but I have to take the mask off.” 

Tony and Steve straightened, the former’s lips opening into a grin. Tony’s curiosity was killing him, and the faster they took off the mask and found out who was under there, the faster he could relax.  
He was still holding out hope for the felon in disguise scenario, because lord knows throwing someone in prison was easier than explaining why you kidnapped them for an absolutely bogus reason.

Steve, however, was not so happy with the idea. “Why?” He inquired patiently, assuming that if it was Bruce asking then it had to be important. “We’re not taking it off just because we’re curious.”

Clint asked from the end of the table, a quirk in his brow. “So, you’re not curious?”

His only reply was a withering look from the soldier, and Bruce lowered his voice, calmly asserting the anxious Captain. “No, I’m not doing it for that. I need to check her pupils for dilation or inequality in order to rule out the concussion. Do we not want to take off her mask?” He questioned, not entirely sure why it was such a big deal.

“ _Captain America_ thinks we should wait and ask her for her identity,” the billionaire raised a brow and turned to Steve. “Just sayin’, Cap, if she didn’t come with us then; it won’t be easy now.” Tony adduced, an inciting tone to his voice. “She won’t even know we saw her face!” 

Steve’s face took on a look of disgust, not an ounce of insight as to why they couldn’t just wait for her to wake up. “Are you that impatient?” He countered, trying to keep the sneer from his face. This was to be expected from Tony, but he was surprised when the assassin across the table spoke up.

“We don’t have to see her face, but Bruce does. We’ll just turn around and Bruce will be the only one to know what she looks like.” Nat tried to reason with them and the growing curiosity she’d been feeling, because she knew that one way or another Spidergirl’s identity would be revealed to them. Whether it was now or when she awoke, Natasha didn’t care.

Bruce stood awkwardly among the bickering Avengers, not sure if he should interrupt or not. Bruce himself still has questions that hadn’t been answered, and he figured they may help them come to a conclusion. He promptly decided that they were more important than whatever the otheres we’re going to go on about.

“Again, why is the mask so important? I’m a little lost here – and short on time.”

Steve was quick to answer, still annoyed with the lack of understanding from his teammates. “She asked us not to take it off. She seemed pretty bothered by the idea too, and doing it anyways would only ruin any chance of a relationship we still have with her.” Cap was trying desperately to convey the importance of trust in interrogation tactics, but it didn’t seem to be working.

“So...” Bruce reworded Steve’s telling, “You guys didn’t expect a masked hero to not want to be unmasked? Come on, guys.” He sighed, closing his eyes and pinching his nose, deciding on his own what was going to happen. “Either don’t look, or do. I’ve got a job to do and you guys aren’t really helping.”

They all looked at each other, debating silently what to do. It was difficult, because they could always lie to Spidergirl; tell her the mask never came off. Or they could not even bother with that much.

Tony crossed his arms, tight blue t-shirt stretching with the action. “I’m not moving.” He declared, knowing full well they couldn’t make him move an inch.

The soldier beside Tony grunted in response, knowing this was a battle he couldn’t win. “Fine, but that’s it. No more digging,” he relented, and everyone except Clint nodded.

“Is it really that big of deal? This feels a little dramatic, I mean unless she has a massive scar or something, nothing’s going to be shocking. A face is a face.” The archer arched his eyebrows and crossed his arms. He didn’t really care what was behind that mask unless it was an eye patch or something. Anything else was expected.

Tony rolled his eyes, “Whatever, let’s just get this over with and get to bed, then.” He supposed that Clint was right. Whatever was under Spidergirl’s mask was just a combination of genes unique to each person. The part that had Tony conflicted was whether or not he should have FRIDAY just tell them who she was when her face was revealed. It would be a heck of a lot easier than asking her.

Bruce relaxed and opened his scissors, regretting already having cut the fabric over her arm in two. He decided to simply cut it off, moving the blades up the top of her shoulder and beneath her underarm – once finished he let the material drop to the floor. The sight that greeted them was a mess of colors: Black, blue, and yellow being the main ones. The other color smeared across Piper’s shoulder was red, but Bruce was happy to notice that it seemed to only be coming from cuts and scrapes – not a bone poking through her skin as he had feared.

The four other Avengers grimaced at the bruised and awkward shoulder in front of them. Though it was a relief to Bruce, it only made them feel worse, and the doctor wished he could make them feel better by saying it wasn’t as bad as it looked. He couldn’t until he looked at it further, though, and he wasn’t doing that until he made sure her head was alright.

“Okay,” Bruce murmured, grasping for the hem of Spidergirl’s mask with one hand, the other having grabbed an optical flash light already. He found it, and began to gingerly pull.

Everyone was silent, watching as the mask came up just past over her neck before Bruce had to put down the flashlight and use both hands. He gently slid it past her mouth and up off her head, letting brown braids which went Dutch style across her head fall to the table as he did.

The moment they saw the face beneath the mask silence washed over them like a tsunami and all they heard was static. Smooth lips sat in a pout beneath Spidergirl’s button nose, the light of the lab accented the tip of it as well as the sweet edges of her cheekbones. Her eyelashes laid tall and still against the soft vibrancy of her skin.

The unbelievably youthful sight hit them somewhere in the ribs.

“Oh,” Clint breathed, “Shit.”

“What in fucking hell is this?” Tony practically cried, hoping his eye sight was going and that he wasn’t seeing whatever he was seeing. His hands came up to grasp at his hair, and Clint tore his gaze from the _kid_ to lock eyes with an astonished Steve.

“You kidnapped a Baby!” He turned to Bruce and Nat this time, not sure why they weren’t more disturbed. “What is she, twelve?” The archer’s tone rose, not at all liking the view of an injured kid on their table. Natasha looked at him, concern in her eyes. Spidergirl’s face did look… young.

Natasha studied the vigilante’s exposed features closely, narrowing her eyes in concentration. “She could pass for nineteen,” she decided, hoping that everyone would just calm down a little bit. Natasha didn’t think the girl looked too young, judging by the fine edges of her face. She knew by the look Tony gave her, though, that whatever they had expected and planned for the rest of the night had just flown right out the window.

“Yeah,” Tony quipped, “If nineteen year olds looked like fucking puppies!” He inhaled deeply, covering his face with his hands. There was no way Spidergirl, the actual vigilante, was a kid. No way. Tony wouldn’t let himself believe it, because that would mean he had beat up a kid. A child.

She looked so… small.

Steve frowned and tried to bring calm to the room again, deciding that this couldn’t be as bad as it seemed. “Lots of people look younger than they are, “he said. Knowing that he was either a great example; or a terrible one. And he tried not to think about how this related to the whole merchandise issue earlier, because normal vigilantes didn’t buy other's merchandise – but maybe kid vigilantes did.

“He’s right,” Banner exhaled, letting his hands fall again. “She may look young, but there’s no way a kid would go and decide to beat up criminals for a living. Let’s take a second.” He waited for the room to look at him, and they did, very unnerved. He wasn’t actually prepared to say anything, because Spidergirl did look young. The only comfort he could offer was that she was far more capable than a hypothetical teenager would be, but they already knew that.

Natasha tried to convey the logical side of things one again, “So, her face looks young, but everything else about her tells us that she’s at least eighteen. The college level text books, the skill level, and the fact that no parent would just let their kid run around fighting criminals at odd hours of the night,” Steve nodded in agreement, and Bruce felt thankful for Natasha’s calm demeanor.

“That would only work if kids told their parents everything. News flash, they don’t.” Tony felt the need to clarify just how wrong they might be, but he couldn’t argue their other points. Spidergirl’s actions we’re mature if you didn’t count her cheeky sense of humor, and unless she was a genius, she had to be in college.

Cap knew that he was right, but the fact was that appearances didn’t mean squat. Especially when said person isn’t even awake and moving. “She’s still out cold. When she wakes up I’m sure her demeanor will tell us everything we need to know.” He said, knowing that everyone looked younger when they were asleep.

They looked at Spidergirl again, her small frame appearing even smaller in light of their new discovery. Though she was still the same as before, they now took notice of the subtle sharpness of her hips. The small detail was overlooked before, because Spidergirl didn’t look awkward in form. Piper could thank her enhanced biology for her clear skin and toned body.

“Wow, we really managed to pick the cutest, most harmless vigilante on the face of the planet. I’m choosing next time, guys.” Clint yammered, placing his arms akimbo. He actually found it almost funny, that of all the people they could have investigated, Spidergirl was the one deemed most threatening. Tony looked at him with a rough tiredness clinging to him.

“We didn’t choose her, SHIELD did. A vigilante - Someone we have every right to bring in. Let’s just hope to god Natasha’s right and Spider-baby is over eighteen.” Tony was about seventy percent sure that he would have a hernia if she wasn’t. Logic aside, the fact that Tony had messed up would only be amplified if Spidergirl we’re just a kid who didn’t know any better. He had no idea how he would even go about talking to a kid like that. He assumed, though, that Nat was right. No kid would ever actually want to fight crime like that in their free time.

No normal kid, that was.

“I think it’s safe to say that she is, especially if her face is the only thing making us feel any different,” Steve assured. “We already guessed that she was young, so we’ll still have to just wait until we can talk to her.’’

Tony, however, had a quicker solution. “FRIDAY could tell us who she is right now,’ he suggested innocently.

Steve knew that was coming, because Tony never did have a whole lot of patience. “Again, if we do that, she’ll never trust us. And that means we’ll have convinced a vigilante, whose intentions we’ve already seen as harmless, that saving people is a crime. We’d have completely failed the justice system and that is something we absolutely cannot do.” Whether for public standing, or the good of the Earth as a whole; trust was important. If people didn’t trust heroes and their government to keep them safe and do the right thing, then doubt was created. And doubt in a society’s morals quickly causes it to crumble. If Spidergirl decided that the Avengers we’re actually a corrupt organization, it would be incredibly hard to keep the news from the media. Even if she was arrested, Queens would miss their Vigilante, and someone would go digging. 

“He’s right, we should only do that as a last resort.” Natasha spoke, knowing what Steve was getting at. This would be a lot easier if they could convince the vigilante that it was a mistake.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Fine, I guess we’ll do it the long way.”

Their attention was brought back to the vigilante in between them since their conversation was concluded with the finalizing of their new plans. Bruce stared at them for a second before snapping out if; he hadn’t realized the next step was his.

“Right, her head!” Bruce blurt, grabbing the optical flashlight yet again. He would be glad when Spidergirl woke up, because there were actually a ton of questions he was dying to ask about her biology. Like, how did she stick to things? How strong was she relatively? Was she immune to drugs or anything else specific? Bruce was actually dyeing to know, but he assumed she wasn’t immune to drugs since she was laying here unconscious.

Just as he thought that, though, the girl began to shake. It was slight, like a twitch in your eye that wouldn’t let up. Except that they took place in her hands and legs, and it would have been unnoticeable had Bruce’s eyes not caught the frown beginning to pull at her face. The doctor put one of his hands across hers, feeling the slight tremble.

The others noticed, and Steve was quick to recognize the phenomenon from earlier when he was pinning her down. One look at Bruce’s face and the soldier knew that they probably should have said something sooner.

They all became crudely aware of their mistakes in the next few minutes.

“She was doing that earlier, but a lot worse. It was right after the…” Steve stopped, because he couldn’t remember the exact amount of sedatives they had used. He knew it was more than usual. “How many darts did you use, Natasha?”

Her expression deepened and she answered him shortly, hand coming to grasp the bag in her hold tighter. “Four. The third one got her confused, but I needed the second one to help you restrain her.” Natasha’s concern began to grow, but she kept the worry from her face as always.

“What’s wrong, Bruce?” Tony inquired, leaning unconsciously towards the body on the table. Anxious to help if the need be.

“I don’t…” He felt the pulse at her wrist hastily, “You said she did this before?”

They nodded.  
“Then it must be because of the drugs… I assume it took you so many because her body processes them faster - Which means it also processes them differently. I assume this is her body reacting to the sheer amount of sedatives in it.” He thought for a moment, throwing together a hypothesis loosely upon what he was hearing and the fast rate of her pulse. “In other words… her body must be fighting to stay awake. A flight or fight response if you will.” Bruce didn’t know if this was going to be a major problem until there was one, so he couldn’t fret now. It was only a few tremors, and he assumed it was because of adrenaline, but he was left uneasy. He knew nothing about Spidergirl’s biology after-all.

Clint took a step forward to look at the girl, “You mean she’s going to wake up?” The tremors were still small and consistent, and the frown was settled on her lips, now.

Bruce pursed his lips, “Not yet, I don’t think. But soon… I hope.”

“What do you mean?” Steve asked, wondering how bad this situation could possibly get.

“It would just make more sense if she did, otherwise something must be wrong.” He looked at them and nodded reassuringly, “She’s fine for now, so I’ll just check her over as planned.”

The three avengers nodded in return, worry floating in all of their minds. Needless to say this situation would be really bad if they had accidentally sent Spidergirl into a coma, and none of them wanted to think about the repercussions of that. Or the paperwork, if they were being completely honest.

Bruce took their silence as approval as he went back to work for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, and gently peeled open Spidergirl’s left eye. He noticed with small interest the color of her eyes before he leaned closer to her face to see, shining the light in the one he held open.

Brisker than anyone could have anticipated the pen-light hit the wall behind Tony with a clack, and Piper’s good arm fell to her face. A soft groan escaped her lips as she clumsily grasped at her eyes.

Bruce looked at his now empty hand in shock, and the other three Avengers leapt forward in a panic. Sadly, they didn’t have long to sort through their thoughts when the bright hazel eyes of Spidergirl blinked open.

And pandemonium ensued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is! They saw her face, finally! They just can't bring themselves to face how young she really looks yet, but it looks like Piper's about to give them a wake up call. And I really hope you guys enjoyed it! I'm not used to writing like that, because I usually write more emotional pieces - so this was new to me.  
> Anyways, I HAVE A QUESTION! Do you guys think she should be fourteen or fifteen? I know I already said fifteen, but maybe it would be more impact-full? But then again fifteen also feels right, so just tell me what you think!  
> Again, thank you so much for reading! And i'm sorry if it maybe seemed confusing or I missed some mistakes, I'm trying!  
> I hope you liked it! And thanks also for all the wonderful feedback last time! It was great to read!  
> See you next time! :)


	5. Is This What Taking Heroine Is Like? (I'll Pass.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope you enjoy!

Piper was existing. That was the best way she could have described whatever this… place was. It was perhaps a place where things existed, and nothing else. She had no thoughts of herself, because she wasn’t even aware that there was a her. Just that there was a place in which she resided, and it was indefinite. She… existed in this place for a very long, or very short amount of time before something changed. Something shifted and she was suddenly aware of something – a smell. That was what drifted through her mind at the discovery of it. It was a smell, and it lingered with her for a while until it was gone from her mind and a tugging began. It pulled at what she gathered were limbs that she, herself, had. It pulled and ached and then there was noise. It came to her easily this time; the sensation of sound and a smell. And then she could hear a booming, like the beat of multiple drums surrounding her.

Then, there was pain so sharp it tore through the nothing in which she existed and seized a part of her, and with abrupt clarity she realized it was her eyes. She had hands, and legs, and feet, and eyes. She had a name and it was wonderful, because it was hers. And she had friends and hobbies and she was… where was she? The booming was louder now; accompanied by… voices, but the brightness had disappeared. She realized that her hand was on her face, covering her eyes in pure reflex.

Piper realized that she had to open her eyes, because they we’re closed, and all she could feel was a haste in her chest. It was pushing her, telling her to move, but Piper didn’t know where to move. She didn’t know why, and the only way to find out was to look. Her eyes blinked open.

Bright. That’s what everything was - and loud, so very loud. She vaguely noticed her muscles clench in panic as she held herself for a second. Just a second as she tried to calibrate – anything that her body would let her before it moved on its own. She could see faces, three of them, and the noise was definitely coming from them. They must be screaming, shouting at the top of their lungs because for the life of her Piper couldn’t make out a single word. She could, however, recognize the booming now. That constant sound was one Piper cherished, but when it came so fast and so alarmed, it was a warning. The heartbeats of whoever was near her were unbelievably loud and elevated, meaning something was wrong. In the second Piper had to think, that was her fuzzy conclusion: Something was wrong.

So, she let her body move the way it was good at, purely instinctual and mostly at random.  


The small group of Avengers leapt back, all except Steve, who was the only one capable of combating Spidergirl’s strength. He moved to grasp her as she startled into a sitting position, and he had assumed – because professionals were allowed to make assumptions – that she would move to avoid him. But Piper, in her state of blindness, had only last minute reflex to go on, and they didn’t allow for error or safe thinking.  


So, she grabbed whatever was closest to her and threw it at whatever else was coming at her. She had absolutely no idea what that thing was, and she didn’t have the thought to care at the moment. Seeing the world in fuzzy blobs and shapes with the equivalent of an indoor concert in your brain could do that to you.  


One minute, Steve was sure that the awakened vigilante was going to dodge him. Instead, 180 pounds that was Clint Barton was colliding with his outstretched arms, and it was in that next minute they tumbled heavily to the ground. Thoroughly confused.  


“Did she just… throw me?” The archer pushed off of his teammate in disbelief. He had just been standing there, unsure what to do, when a tiny hand had ripped him off of the ground faster than he could blink. Both captain and archer got off of the floor to see Spidergirl stumble away from the table and stand near the edge of the room, as they all watched. They weren’t sure what to do.

Piper had flung herself off of what she could only imagine to be a table, only to realize that her left arm rubbed her in a way that it most certainly shouldn’t. A very painful way. So she made it to the floor and moved, knowing that something had happened to her arm. Something had happened… and she knew what. She knew… she just couldn’t remember. _Priorities, though._ They were screaming at her – her body burned with the need to survive – the need to do _something._ And that meant fixing whatever was holding her back.

The four heroes gathered in a semi-circle by coincidence, watching the frantic face of Spidergirl contort suddenly. It had happened so fast; one moment she was lying still on the table, and the next she was staring at them wide eyed. Except she wasn’t really seeing them.

Her right hand slid shakily up her bare arm and to her shoulder, feeling blindly at it. The Avengers watched as her expression turned from absolutely bewildered to determined, and they had only the smallest second to understand what was happening.

Piper closed her unseeing eyes and hunched forward, hand gripping her shoulder forcefully.

‘Guys...” Clint called in warning, and Bruce’s eyes widened in realization.

“Somebody stop her-!”

Piper yanked her shoulder forward harshly and it shifted roughly, setting with a click. The voices around her died as pain swallowed her briefly, but she resurfaced a split second later and relief flooded her shoulder immediately.

Natasha let the hand she outstretched in a haste hang there as she gaped, and the others follows suit.

“Shit, kid…” Steve trailed off, uncertain about whether he should approach her yet. The others all stood warily around the disorientated girl, and Bruce thought it was officially safe to say that her shoulder had only been dislocated… Though this was not the way he had wanted to figure that out.

Tony observed the vigilante in shock, because she had just decided that she was going to fucking reduce her arm, probably because it hurt a lot worse before the reduction. And now she was standing on unsteady feet, and he could practically see the hesitation; the _what the hell do I do now?_ In her expression. Tony remembered then, that they were supposed to be convincing Spidergirl that she was safe. Not standing there like mindless rocks.

“Hey,” he called slowly, “We won’t hurt you.”

Piper threw her hands over her ears. In the haste of adrenaline and fear, Piper knew only that she had to do what she usually did when she was injured. And now she was left blinking, looking at the figures before her as she tried to sort through their deafening sounds. Everything was loud and bright, and she could feel every part of her crawl with the need to move. To escape.  
But Piper had absolutely no idea what to do.

The person closest said something to her, and she tried to focus on him. On whatever the hell he was saying – or doing. She had been… where had she been? Patrolling… she was patrolling and then… God, she needed to breath. The hammering in her chest needed to stop, or she might never breath normally again. Then, she could think.

Tony noticed the rigidity of her posture soften a little, as if she may have heard him, Understood and given up her fight, but then her eyes landed on him; hazy and wide. Tony’s chest clenched when she looked at him with some tired form of hope in her eyes - In her woefully _puppy-like_ eyes. The hope he had held for criminalizing Spidergirl died at the thought. Crashed and burned quicker than a car full of gasoline on a mine field.

“Why is she covering her ears, Bruce? What’s happening?” Tony asked, eyes not leaving the attention of Spidergirl. The doctor himself had been thinking about what he – they all were seeing, and it seemed a lot like his hypothesis earlier was coming into play, and her fight or flight response just wouldn’t turn off. He mused that it was probably because the sedatives were still trying to do a number on her, and her body wasn’t going to let it.

“It appears to be sensory overload,” he spoke quietly, and was distantly excited about how keen her senses must be. “So, everything we say is probably overwhelming her… The best we can do is whisper and take things slowly.” He looked at the rest of room hoping they understood; they did.

Tony nodded, and spoke as quietly as possible – hoping she could hear him, and that she would listen and they could avoid another freak-out. The thought of asking for help crossed his mind for a split second, because Tony Stark wasn’t good with stuff like this. That was usually Natasha or Clint… or literally everyone else but him. But he had been the one closest to her, and for some stupid reason he opened his mouth and started talking to her. Now, she was studying him with a panic he couldn’t envy and he had no choice but to try and help.

“It’s alright.” He brought his hand out as a sign of comfort, and he was happy to see her eyes widen in slow recognition. And then it morphed, heartbreakingly into something else entirely. Tony knew that look – he had seen some form of it many times on many faces, but it had never seemed so confused and distressing as the one in front of him.

Betrayal. Piper felt it flood her as soon as her mind cleared, and she was ashamed of herself for feeling it. She had calmed herself, just enough to make out what the person in front of her was saying, and soon enough she was squinting through the haze that clouded her eyes to see the man in front of her. And then the hammering in her chest was back; except the panic had left her. Physically at least, because in her mind she was most definitely panicking, but her body just felt… exhausted. Her legs shook with the effort to stand up at all, but she ignored it, because she had to.  
The amount of things she’s had to force herself through this month was officially on the level of some really sad and dramatic movie, which had the most unbelievable plot on the face of the Earth.

Piper supposed that was her life, now.

And now she was looking at the blurry face of Tony Stark, and it looked sort of like he was sad. _Why was he sad?_ Piper couldn’t think of any reason, or anything else for that matter over the growing ache in her head. Her mind did a loop again, and she finally grasped her situation. Ironman and Captain America must have caught her – they were chasing her across Queens and she hadn’t been fast enough to get away: she hadn’t been good enough.

She closed her eyes and grasped her head, unable to do anything about the wobble in her stance. All she could feel was heavy, and the most confused she’s ever felt in her life, as she stood there. Trying to balance herself when she should be running. She wanted to go home – she really wanted to go home, but she figured she would have to open her eyes and fix this, first. So over the pain, and hammering, and weight pulling at all of her senses, she looked at them and said the only thing on her mind.

“What the actual fu-,” and then the heavy blanketed her and she fell all too abruptly.

Tony dived across the space between them, landing on his knees in time to cushion her fall. Tony’s mind was swimming, because for a time there he had actually thought they were going to have a conversation, and that Spidergirl was going to yell at them. The Avengers would have been totally okay with that, had it meant that they could finally sort this out. _It had only been about two hours, but this mission was beginning to feel like an eternity._

“Bruce-,” Tony started, but he was already there, pulling at the tiny girl in his arms to face him. He checked her pulse briefly, and wasn’t surprised to find that it was slower than last time. Bruce assumed that this was a normal rate for Spidergirl, considering the speed with which her body seemed to function.

The doctor addressed his friends who were now gathered at the scene, faces’ serious. “She’s fine, and she’s actually asleep this time. The sedatives you used must have thrown her body into overdrive, because all of her senses seemed to be overwhelmed. To such an extent, though…” he studied the girl in Tony’s arms. “It’s safe to assume her senses are heightened, and me shining the light in her eyes triggered the overload.” Bruce admitted to himself that he should have taken into account the sensitivities super-humans tended to have, and not acted so rashly. He was a doctor, and he wasn’t going to blame the odd time of day for his mistakes.

Natasha knew what he was getting at, because she knew Bruce, and it was part of her job to understand people. However, she felt it was fairly obvious that it wasn’t his fault. “It was my fault, I shouldn’t have used so many of the darts,” she voiced without hesitation.

Steve understood the sentiment of his team, however, it wasn’t something they could have avoided very easily, and it’s not as if they could have known what was going to happen. Though he did feel guilty about not asking for more information in the first place. He crossed his arms and studied the scene in front of him, watching as Bruce now hovered and poked at the girl’s shoulder. “It’s not anyone’s fault, we had no way of knowing any of this would happen. We barely had a file.”

The heroes all acknowledged his comment, but it didn’t stop them from feeling the slightest bit guilty. They were heroes, and the job didn’t come without the need to do whatever you can, whenever you can, and they had learned that sometimes there just wasn’t anything you could do. That didn’t mean it wasn’t difficult to accept, though.

“How’s her shoulder?” Tony asked, genuinely concerned for whoever he was holding, because if she wasn’t okay then nobody in here would be okay. He had also dislocated a few bones before, and it had been awful, but he’d never just popped it back in place without any forethought. The whole scene had him grimacing. He wanted to say she was fearless, but he had seen enough to prove otherwise. Brave was a better word, or maybe she was just really dumb.

Bruce look at Tony with a gleam in his eye, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it’s fine. She must have known what she was doing.”

Clint smirked, “Maybe she’s not so young after-all. I mean, come on guys, no kid would just do that. Even in a panic.”

Steve considered it, and it did make him feel a little more secure with Spidergirl’s age, but this whole situation was out of hand. He thought he had it under control once they had her restrained, but things had spiraled messily into chaos. He was just glad she was out, again, because he was suddenly aware of just how unprepared they had been for her… awakening.

“I’ll just have to dress the scrapes and torn muscles, but I can do that upstairs if you guys want to settle her on the couch? Maybe get some sleep… She should be out for a while this time.” Bruce offered, knowing that Spidergirl’s body was probably drained of energym and passing out must have been a product of the delayed adrenaline crash. He also knew that it was getting late – or early, and if they didn’t get some sleep now they wouldn’t anytime soon.

“That’s a good idea, I can sleep in the living room in case she wakes up.” Natasha agreed and started for the lab door. “I’m going to get her some clothes, oh-“she stopped next to Clint with a grin on her face-“Are you okay? She threw you pretty hard.”

Tony burst out laughing and stood up, Spidergirl draped across his arms. “That was hilarious, she threw you like a rag-doll.”

Clint slapped an astonished look on his face, “I didn’t even have a chance! Steve could have stopped her, too, but instead I got manhandled by Spidergirl. Thanks, Cap.” He threw a half-hearted glare at Captain America, and Steve chuckled.

“To be fair, I didn’t expect her to throw you at me.” He followed the group into the hallway, getting into the elevator as they did. “She’s completely unpredictable, either I’m off my game, or Spidergirl’s pretty good.”

Tony snickered, “I’d say you’re off your game.”

“Yeah,” Clint chided from beside Natasha, “She’s got like, three weeks of experience compared to you.”

“She also had both of you falling to the ground, so Steve can’t be the only one off of his game today.” The assassin quipped coolly, looking at them amused as their faces fell immediately. “Besides, we have a better idea of what to do now that we’ve made so many mistakes.”

The elevator came to a stop and they filed out, Natasha going the opposite direction as the others to her room. They moved on to the kitchen, and then in to the living room where they could keep an eye on the Vigilante. Tony laid her down on the leather couch, and Bruce dropped the medical supplies he must have grabbed from downstairs onto the coffee table.

“I’ll just finish this up,” Bruce spoke to the two men behind him, “You guys can go get some sleep, and I’ll tell you if anything happens.”

Steve lingered for a moment, and Tony looked hesitant, too. “Are you sure?” Steve asked, not moving until he got conformation. He was team leader, and he wasn’t just going to leave when there was still something he could do. From Bruce’s answer, though, he knew that all he could do was wait for her to wake up.

“I’m sure, there’s not much to do.”

Captain America nodded and left. The billionaire stayed, though, because he felt restless. Like he had to do something or say something, but it was that same feeling that kept him up at odd hours most nights. Usually he just worked on whatever needed his attention the most until it was done; like a suit or something, but he couldn’t do that. His head was too full, so he sank into the matching couch with a sigh and lay his arm over his face.

“She’ll understand, Tony.” Bruce came back from the kitchen holding a bowl of water and a washcloth; Tony hadn’t even noticed him leave. The doctor knew what Tony was thinking, or he could guess pretty accurately. The billionaire was good at hiding it, but he tried really hard to do the right thing, and when it didn’t work out he blamed himself. That was fine, normal for heroes, but he had a pile of things Bruce could only see the surface of dragging him down. And no-one could seem to pull him out of it. Whatever hole he seemed to be drowning in, that was.

No-one even knew where to start: especially when letting people in wasn’t his forte.

“Yeah, she’ll understand how terrible the Avengers are.” Tony groaned cynically, “Why couldn’t she have just spoken to us like a normal person?”

“I don’t know,” Bruce answered honestly, wiping at Spidergirl’s shoulder softly. “You said she was scared.”

“Yeah, she was.”

“So…” Bruce went over the scrapes with an antiseptic, “We would have done the same thing.”

Tony didn’t say anything further, because it wasn’t exactly true. Tony wouldn’t have liked it, but he would have gone, answered the questions, and left. Granted, it wasn’t always so easy with SHIELD. That was probably why she ran so soon, not because she was too young to know any better. Definitely not that.

Natasha walked into the room carrying the clothes she promised in her hands, and Tony didn’t bother to look up. Anyone whose footsteps were that quiet had to be Natasha, and it wasn’t so hard to distinguish from the hulking steps of his other freakish housemates.

Bruce was ready to wrap her shoulder now, but he knew he couldn’t do that while she was lying down. “Could you tip her on her side while I finish wrapping?” He beckoned Natasha, and she swiftly laid the clothes on the coffee table to help. Bruce noticed that she had changed into more comfortable clothing.

“This good?” She asked, raising Spidergirl’s back in the air by lifting beneath her shoulder blades. Piper’s head hung limply.

“Yeah,” he wound the wrap around her shoulder to reduce swelling, stopping once all of the bandages underneath were covered. “That’s good.”

Natasha laid her down again, and picked up the clothes. “You’re done?” She asked, and looked at him strangely.

“Yes…” he answered, not quite sure why she was eyeing him so sharply.

Natasha raised a brow in exasperation. “I’m changing her clothes now.” She wasn’t going to just let Spidergirl lie in a filthy suit all night while they got to relax.

“Oh-“ Bruce started, but was interrupted by Tony who still hadn’t moved an inch.

-“I think Bruce here is used to seeing naked people, Natasha.”

The assassin rolled her eyes, “I know that, Tony, but unless she’s injured anywhere else it’s unnecessary. I’m just changing her clothes, and I’m sure she’d rather it be me than you guys. Especially if she does admire us.”

“Right, why do we care what she wants again?” The billionaire peeked from under his arm at her, knowing once Spidergirl woke up they weren’t going to be idols to her anymore. He also just didn’t want to move.

“Because we feel bad, remember?” Her gaze turned hard as she directed it towards the two men. “Now leave.”

Bruce rushed out of the room and Tony groaned, peeling himself from the couch. “Fine, I’ll see you lovely people in the morning, then,” he grumbled.

Natasha only smiled as they left, attention returning to the vigilante on their couch. She wasn’t quite sure where to start in taking off the suit, but she assumed you could just pull it off. She grabbed the edges and found that it was actually very easy to slip off of her small frame, since the fabric was so stretchy. She shimmied it off of the girl completely, and left her in the red sports bra and underwear she was wearing. Natasha found hilarity in the flashiness of Spidergirl; or the fact that it was possible she just really liked the color red.

She noticed, then, the push of Spidergirl’s ribs against her skin. It wasn’t crude, but Natasha would say that Spidergirl could stand to eat more. Despite the lean muscle peeking through her skin as well. There were bruises, too, but Natasha had expected that from anyone fighting crime.

Natasha had found one of her smaller pair of shorts, and she slipped the black fabric onto the girl, tightening them at the waist. The t-shirt she brought was also a smaller size for her, but it fit Spidergirl pretty well, and Natasha was actually quite satisfied with her guessing. She brought the soft green shirt over the girl’s head, and settled it loosely at her waist.

Nat found it strange… how young and sweet Spidergirl looked up close.

Before she could dwell on it any further, though, she grabbed two blankets from the couch’s end. Spreading one over the sleeping vigilante, she settled with a pillow under her head on the other couch, and threw a blanket onto herself. She gazed at the girl one more time before turning over, hoping silently that Spidergirl would have some sense to her. _Or else tomorrow was going to suck, so very badly._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thank you guys so much for answering my questions last time! Everyone seemed to agree for the most part, so that was really nice. And Piper is finally awake!! Or she was... but she will be again - like soon, I promise. Haha, I hoped everyone liked this chapter, and I really enjoy hearing what you guys would like to happen in this story!  
> Thank you guys again so much for reading! I hope you have a wonderful day!! :) <3


	6. To Speak or Not To Speak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re… You’re Dr. Bruce Banner!” Piper spewed in wonder, seeing the man she’s only ever read about right in front of her. Surely, she was still dreaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm sorry for the wait, but I hope you enjoy!

Tony drew a sip of his black coffee and took it in; the sweet taste of dread. Such a taste was oddly familiar in the morning, and it went nicely with the bite of his coffee, especially when it was probably the only thing more bitter than him at the current moment. He looked at the rest of the team gathered at the kitchen table along with him, and they all looked just as concerned. At this point, none of them knew what the best course of action was. Logically, they were to treat Spidergirl as any other mission and simply let SHIELD do their thing, and the notion didn’t sound too bad. That was until any one of them spared the vigilante a glance, and something about her just screamed at them to wait.

Wait for what, they really had no idea, but the feeling was hard to ignore.

Natasha folded Spidergirl’s clothes onto the table; freshly washed, and laid her backpack beside it. Her eyes followed Steve as he put away the dishes from their breakfast, lost in thought. They would have to tell SHIELD something soon. She wasn’t sure what, yet, but it was clearly going to be a lie. At least partially, or they would be able to tell the truth, but that was only if she was actually dangerous.

“So,” Steve spoke, breaking the silence. “Let’s go over what we know about Spidergirl already, then we’ll know what we need to find out.” He realized going to bed last night that they hadn’t exactly planned what they were going to ask the vigilante when she did wake up. And it was kind of important, because they couldn’t stand to make a bigger fool out of themselves than they had already.

Tony raised a brow, “That she’s a pain in the ass to handle?”

“Other than that,” Cap deadpanned, looking to Natasha this time.

She spoke decisively, giving the same impression of poise as ever. “We know what SHIELD told us, but so far it’s proven to be unreliable. Assuming her age is the only thing wrong, though, we know she runs her operations in Queens. She’s known for being ‘the friendly neighborhood Spidergirl’ who walks old ladies home, but It’s clear she’s capable of immense strength.” Natasha stopped, not entirely sure what else to add, but Steve was glad she had gotten the conversation started.

“She’s also been known for stopping a lot of robberies and supposedly some drug trafficking, but the concern is that she might change her mind about whose side she’s on.” Cap brought his hand under his chin in thought, “but the crime rate in Queens has dropped almost 30% since her appearance - doesn’t seem like a threat to me, but we all understand how circumstance can change things. We have to remember that, though we aren’t giving her to SHIELD (yet), we have to be sure she won’t go insane anytime soon.”

Tony hummed in agreement, “So, you’ll handle her if she freaks out again? Because now that I think about it, it’s kind of like having a loose cannon on our couch. Except it’s a tiny Spider-freak that we stole. You get what I’m saying?” Despite what people thought, Tony didn’t like chaos. Of course that wasn’t entirely true, it would be more accurate to say that he didn’t like it when it was in his home and would cause a boatload of legal issues.

Steve clenched his jaw in irritation. Not with Tony, but with the fact that he was the only one here capable of restraining Spidergirl with his own two hands, and he had failed. His teammates shouldn’t have to ask if he could handle something as simple as this, but they did. He had let down his guard, and if Spidergirl had decided to _actually_ throw Clint last night, then he may have died. He should have been more careful then, but all he could do was make sure he was now.

“I’ve got it,” Steve guaranteed. “I assume FRIDAY won’t let her out, either, right?”

Tony nodded smugly, “That’s right. FRIDAY’s always got us covered.”

Natasha leaned on her elbow casually, but her serious demeanor stayed. “Let’s actually try and keep her from panicking this time, you know, so we can avoid all of that.” The assassin was growing slightly, steadily, concerned with their attitudes. She knew that talking to someone who’s terrified didn’t always work, but she was hoping that it would. Spidergirl shouldn’t have to fear the Avengers, and the Avengers shouldn’t have to be aggressive enough to invoke fear in the way they already had. Natasha knew it must be weird to try and stifle that, because their missions were usually all about dominating and intimidating, but they couldn’t do that here. They had to be a little softer.

Steve understood what she meant and tried to smooth over his words, knowing Tony wasn’t going to do it for him. He assured her, “It’s just in case, Natasha.”

She studied him and Tony for a moment more before deciding she didn’t have to say anything else. She only wanted them to remember that this wasn’t like one of their usual interrogations. Spidergirl wasn’t a murderer or alien leader – she was a person. A scared person.

Beside Natasha, slumped on the counter top, was Clint; fiddling with his hands. He was bored, tired, and just plain sick of waiting. He came out of retirement to escape the crippling hands of stationary existence, and it was an understatement to say that this felt a lot like they were creeping up on him. Maybe not quite, but it was close. Sitting through briefings and waiting in a car while they had all the fun was bad, but he supposed it wasn’t terrible. Even if he did feel like falling asleep at the moment. “When’s the Spider-chick going to wake up?” He moaned in question.

“Under normal circumstances, like a day at most, but in this case I really don’t know. The fact that I know next to nothing about how her body reacts to drugs makes this entirely un-predictable.” Bruce answered the archer, knowing that he was probably the sole target of the question. Usually, any medical questions could be answered by him, but in this case he knew about as much as they did. Not to mention, the coffee in his hands wasn’t doing much to the fatigue clinging to him. Though they we’re all very used to small amounts of sleep by now, Bruce still found it tough to get the day started.

“We can’t wait that long,” Tony declared, and everyone looked at him with new focus. They were quite aware that they couldn’t wait long, but no-one had really felt the threat of what would happen if they did. If SHIELD felt the need to come knocking too soon, it would be almost impossible to deal with, because Spidergirl hadn’t been easy to bring in. Which to SHIELD meant she was dangerous; plain and simple. They wouldn’t stop a second to take how anyone felt about the situation into account. It was kind of like telling a cashier that you didn’t have to pay for any of the groceries you just bought.

“I’ll tell them we need more time… because the tranquilizers hit harder than expected.”

Everyone’s attention landed on Natasha, disbelief present clearly on their faces.

“They’re still going to want to know how much of a problem she was,” Tony rebounded her idea with the obvious. He had worked with SHIELD quite a bit before this, and their relationship wasn’t too bad. He simply wasn’t daft enough to believe that gave him much elbow room, but he supposed there was a chance Fury would listen to him. He just wasn’t sure if he wanted to use his small favor on a nameless vigilante.

Nat smirked, knowing her friends couldn’t resist the thrill of perjury. “So we lie. I’m sure you’ve already had FRIDAY delete any footage from last night.”

The billionaire grinned at the accuracy, “I am no stranger to lying.”

“But,” Steve interjected, “The risk of them finding out is big. Not to mention, if she does turn out to be a liability, we’ll have to give her to them. And then explain ourselves.” The super soldier thought it would be foolish to assume the seamlessness of a lie. SHIELD wasn’t SHIELD for nothing, and gathering secret information was their specialty.

Natasha gave Steve an exasperated look, and Clint was able to find entertainment in the scene playing before him. Specifically the part where Captain America was being so, totally Captain America, and Natasha was being… soft? Or curious, Clint couldn’t tell which just yet, but it was fun to see.

“I’m just going to lie enough to get us more time. If she turns out to be a huge problem, at least we can say we tried.” Natasha said, feeling more confident than not.

“You really think that will work?” Bruce inquired, joining the conversation with thin lips.

Clint slammed his hands on the table, declaring with vigor over the thought of some excitement, “It sounds like fun to me!” Truly, to him anything was better than listening to his teammates drone on and on about what seemed to be the same stuff. Even if SHIELD was going to get a little butt hurt over it.

“It’s not supposed to be fun,” Steve reprimanded with concern tugging at his features. He wasn’t so sure about the whole lying idea, and he was even less sure about their ability to pull it off. He was stuck with the dilemma of what seemed to be two injustices, and he had to pick one.

“Come on, Captain Stodgy - It’s not like we’ve got much of choice here. If we don’t lie, then it’s off with lovely little Spidergirl.” Tony felt the need to add, “That would be the easy choice, and I’m all for that, but even I feel like we’ve made a mistake.”

“Lying to SHIELD will only worsen her case if they find out,” Steve argued, not to dissuade – just to understand how they thought this could possibly work in their favor.

Across the confused solider, stooped in his stool, sat Bruce; listening to their dispute with faraway ears. There wasn’t much doubt in his mind about which decision they were going to choose, but there was awe to be felt. It was at his teammates, and maybe even his own ability to overlook how emotional they were being right now. Bruce would have reflected upon the phenomenon further, had his attention not been drawn back to the living room; disregarding his teammates discussion.

“-this is going to be hard either way. I just think the option less morally imposing would be a better option.”

Steve understood Natasha’s point, because it was against their morals to use their powers against innocents. In the eyes of the law, however, Spidergirl wasn’t innocent; though Cap didn’t care much for the law if it disagreed with him. Akin to the very criminals he fought against, he had little restriction in breaking a few rules if push came to shove. He just wanted to be sure push did come to shove, and Spidergirl wasn’t dangerous to the innocent. He understood that his friends were arguing that they didn’t have the luxury of assurances, only gut feeling. So he sighed, rolling his eyes at how often they seemed to fling caution to the wind – stopping short as he noticed the empty seat.

His gaze moved from the empty stool between the assassin and Tony, and he peered through the entrance to the living room.

“What?” Tony asked, studying the soldier’s captivated face. “Are you having a stroke? Because I am not equipped to deal with th-“

-“shhh!” Steve hushed quietly, putting his hand up and gesturing ardently behind them. Cap wondered how he hadn’t noticed sooner, but he assumed he had simply been too caught up in his thoughts to even glimpse it.

Tony, Clint, and Natasha all turned their heads swiftly; wondering just what had Captain America so intent on their discretion.

Sitting crouched next to the couch was Bruce, with the back of his head facing them. Next to him was the upright person of Spidergirl, who, despite any scenario that had presented itself to their imaginations; wasn’t screaming. She was talking, and though they couldn’t see it, Bruce was blushing a new shade of pink.

“You’re… You’re Dr. Bruce Banner!” Piper spewed in wonder, seeing the man she’s only ever read about right in front of her. Surely, she was still dreaming. She felt sort of fuzzy and faraway; the way one usually feels in realities other than their own, so it wasn’t a senseless thought. Rather, it was the distinct heaviness that clung to her that made her feel otherwise, even as she rambled on. And she just had to ramble, regardless of the doubt going through her mind. It was _Bruce Banner._ “I’ve read, like, every one of your papers on the processes of Biochemistry and Gamma Radiation, and they were incredibly helpful in this project I’m doing, but, like, I have some questions about your hypothesis on the potential of Gamma Radiation in the medical field, because…” Piper trailed off, eyes narrowing on the astounded face of the doctor. Something was scratching at her brain, and it could have been the stitching rubbing against her legs on the couch -

-The stitching… on the… couch.

_Wait, what?_

She lowered her eyes to her lap and pulled at the unfamiliar clothes and blanket covering her in complete perplexity. These weren’t her clothes, and this wasn’t her couch - had she even slept on the couch last night? No! She didn’t even sleep last night, because she couldn’t get home. And she couldn’t get home, because – 

Her gaze snapped itself to the pairs of eyes she hadn’t realized we’re on her, and she must have looked exactly as she felt in the moment: like a deer in the headlights who felt every need to move, but couldn’t, because they we’re frozen stiff. Frozen absolutely stiff at the sudden realization of where she was, who she was with, and most importantly: what she was wearing.

Or the lack of it, really.

Piper wanted to kick herself: hard enough get the gears in her brain running, but she was running in circles. She wasn’t wearing her suit, and she couldn’t feel the mask on her face which meant she was so totally screwed. So, so totally screwed, and her brain wasn’t helping her unscrew herself.

Bruce drew in a breath to steady himself, and he reached cautiously for the girl’s arm; barely close enough to touch. “It’s okay, It’s okay, uh,” he wanted to say her name, but aborted upon realizing he didn’t know it yet, ”We won’t hurt you.”

One look in his eyes and Piper could see he wasn’t lying, but she didn’t look at him. Her attention was on the still Avengers just yards away from her, and they were stuck looking at each other. Piper’s gaze shifted to her things on the table; folded neatly behind Black Widow, who was studying her with a look Piper only imagined as deadly.

Natasha was simply trying not to say the wrong thing, and if her concern showed, she didn’t know it. “He’s right,” She soothed, “We’re not going to hurt you, and we’ll explain what happened. Let us explain.” The sound of her voice could be compared to wind on the coast. It was soft, quick, and able to put the tickle of goosebumps on your skin.

And Piper’s skin was itching, with goosebumps and anxiety. She tore her eyes from the green of Natasha Romanoff’s and found herself looking at the others, inspecting their body language. She had to stop herself from looking at the face of Ironman for any length, because something like shame filled her at the sight of him. At the memory of how absolutely pathetic she had been, and then at how stupid she was for thinking about that at a time like this. At a time when there was nothing stopping her from leaping away without a warning, but something told her that it would be futile to even try that again.

The rigidness of Captain America’s posture seemed to be it, because it made her feel somewhat like a ticking bomb.

She realized there was no running, and looked with clear eyes at the doctor beside her. The assurance in them seemed to be enough to put air behind her words, but it was shallow and small, because they said they wouldn’t hurt her and they already had. She glanced at her shoulder in wonder, though, because it certainty didn’t hurt anymore, and it was covered in clean bandaging. They must have fixed it - popped it back into place while she was unconscious. But…. it had to be the doctor in front of her. He must have been the one who fixed her shoulder, and in that moment it made him the most trustworthy one here. So, when she gathered the strength to pull away the blanket covering her without shaking uncontrollably, she spoke to him. She spoke only to him, because looking at the others made her feel like running away, and her brain told her that was a bad idea. She had to be strong – she had to _look strong._ “Do you know who I am?”

Bruce knew that he must be gaping; but he couldn’t look away. Not even to look to Cap for what to say, or throw this girl’s attention off of him, because her eyes were calculating his every motion. It was sort of like she could see right through him, and that made Bruce especially conscious of what his movements were. Not that he could help the emotions that passed through his eyes, and he could tell that was exactly what she was studying; but Bruce didn’t feel the hardness of her gaze. It was uncertain, a tad scared? And maybe above all else it was hopeful. “We don’t know who you are, I promise,” he nodded.

Piper saw the certainty in the brown of his eyes, and she scrunched her brows in confusion, though slightly relieved. “You… fixed this?” She gestured to her arm, which she then began to poke at but looked at him still with constant wide eyes. It was strange to try and ignore some of the most important people on the planet, but Piper knew her sanity needed her to focus on one thing at a time. So she looked at the legendary Doctor Banner and tried to understand everything little by little, and knowing that he had helped her was a piece of the puzzle. His response seemed hesitant to her, though, and she kept her legs at a ready position on the sofa.

“I…” Bruce wasn’t entirely sure how to answer her question, because he really didn’t do anything to fix it. She had reduced it herself, and Bruce had taken care of the rest, though it really only involved making sure it didn’t swell. “I cleaned and bandaged it, that’s all.”

Piper nodded distractedly, not entirely sure why it had hurt so badly if it had only needed some bandaging. Besides that, her mind raced with various courses of actions that she could take, and it was either speak to them like a grounded person who wasn’t freaking out; or lose her mind. She took comfort in the fact that they didn’t know who she was, because that meant they also couldn’t judge her for how young she was, which was the last thing she needed. Assuming the worst they were going to do was judge her, that was, but she still didn’t know why she was here.  
Or why any of this was happening.

“Thank you…” she muttered quietly, looking at Bruce to make sure he heard her before sucking in a breath and squaring her shoulders. “Why – what do you,” she threw a wary look to the heroes on her right, “What do you want?”

Natasha carefully moved forward, standing next to the crouched doctor. Piper restrained the urge to shrink at her nearness. “We honestly just needed to speak to you, and we didn’t mean for it to happen like this. We just want to ask you some questions.”

“Why - about what?” Piper already knew about the questions, and she didn’t like the thought of answering any of them; regardless of what they may be. It irked her that she was even in this position.  
Natasha frowned ever so slightly, but Piper’s keen eyes saw it. Bruce looked at her subtly, trying to communicate how fragile the topic may be. This was a good start, and they would be damned if it were ruined.

“I’ll explain when we all sit down, is that okay?” Natasha blinked at the tone of her voice, surprised at how much it sounded like she was talking to a child; she added quickly, “You’re probably thirsty.”

Piper could only stare in confusion. She hadn’t noticed it before, but she was actually starving, and suddenly Black Widow was offering her water? Or was she just… making an assumption and stating the obvious? That seemed kind of stupid, but Piper had absolutely no idea how to feel right now. Except hungry, thirsty, and completely caught off guard; she only watched as the assassin looked to the kitchen again. To the kitchen where Captain America, Tony Stark, and Hawkeye were all staring at her.

_God, she wanted to run._

Natasha saw the awkward image of her teammates and she wanted to smack them. Steve and Tony were looking at Spidergirl like a puzzle, and Nat would bet anything that the girl was off put by it. Clint, Natasha thanked him silently, looked relaxed and dare she say welcoming.

“We’ll sit over here.” Natasha strode up to her friends again and pulled out the stool next to her best friend, deeming it the least threatening.

Piper paused and looked at the seat for a moment, but a voice screamed at her to do it; Take the seat before she looked like a scared baby. With steady movements, she relaxed her muscles in an attempt to stand without shaking like a wind-up toy. She threw a glance at the standing doctor, now right next to her, and she judged the atmosphere once more.

Bruce noticed her caution and smiled slightly when she looked at him. He had noticed her slight inclination to avoid the others, and he could easily guess why, but it did give him a slight satisfaction. If only because she seemed incredibly excited to meet him when she first saw him, but it had disappeared when reality had set in leaving him with a strange mix of disappointment and guilt.  
Bruce found it was easy to feel bad for someone when their eyes reminded you of a brighter place.

“I should check your arm first-“ Bruce spoke suddenly, turning to his teammates with a delayed realization. “-I need to make sure it hasn’t swelled.”

They looked at him confused for a moment before nodding, trusting that Bruce knew what he was doing. Piper only frowned, moving her arm in a circle at the notion.

“Don’t move it much, dislocations need time to heal properly.” The doctor grimaced at Spidergirl’s action; used to patients who were scared to touch their arm after an injury like hers. It tended to be too painful to move.

“But…” Piper had originally thought that it had been dislocated or broken when it happened, but had dismissed it when he said it was only a few scratches. She supposed she had only heard him wrong, and the thought of talking to anyone in this room in a vulnerable way (such is asking a question) made her sick, so she didn’t ask. Only faced him fully and peeled at the bandaging on her arm.  
“I think it’s fine.” Piper dropped the white material onto the table and raised her sleeve a little so that he could see. Bruce marveled at the perfectly normal coloration of her once mulit-colored arm.

“That’s… incredibly fast.” Questions were popping into his head again, and now that she was awake it excited him to finally get some answers. “Do you usually heal that fast?”

Piper thought about what he was asking, and she figured it wouldn’t really hurt to answer. “Yeah.”

Bruce’s eyes lit up in fascination. Usually, after a dislocated arm was fixed, it still took weeks to return back to normal function levels. “So that would mean… so that was why you reduced it yourself!”

Piper stared at him for a second before understanding what he said. “I fixed it? I don’t remember…” she trailed off, hoping she wasn’t forgetting anything important.

Remembering just how under the influence Spidergirl had been, Bruce reckoned she wouldn’t remember. He supposed that in her state of panic, she may have known to fix her shoulder before it set in the wrong position. “You…” Bruce fought for the words to explain, feeling the antsy looks of the others. “You woke up earlier and popped it back into place yourself, then you passed out again.”

None of what Bruce Banner told Piper sounded familiar, and Piper could only nod a little in recognition of his words. She had only done something like that once before, and it was probably one of the things she remembered more clearly than anything. It was on a Saturday, and in her rush to get to Ned’s house for a sleepover, had angled her wrist the wrong way in one of her building dives. Meaning that when she caught herself on the web, her wrist was ripped out of its socket. Looking up how to fix it on WebMD hadn’t been the smartest thing she’s done, but she figured it out, despite the grimace it gave her every time she thought about it. It was hard to believe that she had done that with her shoulder and just forgotten about it, but she didn’t have the patience to dwell on it any longer.

Bruce felt it best to move the conversation forward, speaking from a mind still amazed with a new discovery and not one that was currently focused on what was actually happening. “Seriously, no pain?” he asked.

Piper tested her shoulder by rolling it for a second, “No.” Though her head was growing a dull ache.

Bruce’s mind raced with glee. The girl in front of him healed almost as fast as Steve did, and that was already unbelievably fast. He wondered if her metabolism ran as fast as his, and he knew it was also logical to assume her blood pressure was just as high. Is that why her reflexes seemed to be so nimble? There were so many things-

“That’s wonderful and all, but could we get this moving? SHIELD’s going to be on our asses if we don’t.” The mechanic sounded, crossing his arms and not looking particularly angry despite his annoyed tone.

“Uh, right.” Bruce looked at Piper, and she realized that that was her cue to move. She did, telling herself with every step that it was not okay to trip. Or shake. Or run. It wasn’t okay to run. She lifted herself into the stool, feet dangling off of the floor, and looked tensely at the heroes around her. She was so, so close to Hawkeye. _Like twelve inches close._

It was just past him, on the counter, that she noticed her stuff again. Hopefully she would have that back soon, and she entertained the idea of grabbing it now, because her phone was in there and her friends tended to worry about her; but she deemed it a bad idea. Causing problems wouldn’t get her out of here any sooner.

Steve walked to the refrigerator behind him and grabbed a water bottle.

“Hello Spidergirl,” came a lively voice, and Piper’s lips parted in surprise. “I’m Clint Barton, but you can call me awesome.”

Piper wasn’t sure what to say when looking at the kind face of the man in front of her, because he sounded sincerely nice, and it was contradictory to what she thought the situation was to say the least.

The archer’s heart almost melted at the looked she gave him when he said hi to her. It was incredibly child-like and sweet – so much so that Clint couldn’t help but smile. He really did have a soft spot for cute things, and sad things. Lots of things, actually. Even if they came in the form of a vigilante.

“H-Hi.” Piper almost smiled, and she’s sure she would have, had she not felt so out of place. Her eyes must have shown her appreciation, though, because the archer seemed content with her small answer. Even if she still couldn’t keep her legs from twitching in anticipation.

“Here.”

Piper’s jaw immediately clenched at the new voice. One that she recognized from school especially, and it was the owner of that familiar voice who was sliding her a bottle of water from across the table. His eyes were calculating, but behind them lurked a softness which Piper could have missed had she not been looking at him so intently.

Steve nodded as she tentatively grabbed the water bottle and thanked him. Quiet enough to miss, it was clear from her voice and actions that Spidergirl wasn’t happy with the situation, but it’s not as if Steve expected her to be. Watching her interaction with Bruce had been interesting, and definitely not what he had expected. She didn’t make an attempt to flee, and Steve hypothesized that she was either too scared, or too smart to attempt it.

He would have smiled – tried to lighten the mood as Clint had – if a nagging anxiety wasn’t clinging to him. This was Spidergirl, a vigilante (who SHIELD is currently investigating), and it was their job to make sure she wasn’t a danger to the public. At the same time, it was their duty to do right by Spidergirl. The part that made him anxious was figuring out which way truly was the right way before SHIELD got involved any further.

Piper was glad for the water, and though it felt awkward to drink with people watching her every move, she hesitated only a second before downing the whole thing. The ache in her head died a little after that, and her mind felt a little clearer.

The team watched in awe as the tiny girl drank, feeling slightly bad about how thirsty she really must have been. As Steve went back to get another bottle without thinking, Bruce came to a startling conclusion.

“Food!” He cleared his throat, internally groaning at his outburst. “She uh, needs food. Like a sandwich or something; since she heals so fast it means her metabolism must work faster.”

Clint hummed in recognition, and Tony face-palmed at the Archer’s dumb questions. “So that must be why you had all those bars in your bag, right Spidergirl?”

“Key word: had, since you ate them all.” Tony deadpanned.

“I’m going to pay her back!” The archer sputtered with a whine, looking at Piper straight on and whispering. “I promise, I’ll buy you anything - I was just starving. These animals don’t feed me!”

In spite of the bigger picture, Piper cracked a smile and bit down on a grin, trying desperately not to beam. She shouldn’t be smiling at all, and she should probably be mad that someone had eaten all of her food, but she couldn’t help it. Piper had always been easy to make happy, and sometimes it was a curse. Especially when she should be contemplating her escape from the people who had abducted her. It was that reality that dimmed her smile, and had her straightening.

Natasha looked at Clint in surprise, and he only grinned back at her; totally smug. _Yeah, he could do way more than shoot arrows. He was also an A-plus investigator who rocked at making vigilantes smile._

Tony got up with a roll of his eyes and dug through his cabinets, searching for something that wouldn’t take too long to eat. He came back to the table with an aluminum packet in his hand, dropping it in front of the girl who was trying – very obviously, he might add – not to panic.

“I hope you like Pop-tarts.”

Piper looked at the smirking face of Tony Stark, standing not a foot away from her on her left, and tried not to freak. Was it wrong to think of this as a dream come true? Piper knew it was, but only if she counted the part where she was being interrogated. Other than that she was surrounded by the coolest people in the world, and she honestly didn’t know if she should be angry or happy. Well – she did – it was definitely angry, and she was. Just not when Tony Stark was handing her starving-self Pop-tarts.

“Tony, I said food. Not glorified artificial flavoring-“ Bruce tried to argue with the billionaires choice in food, because something with nutrients would have been better, but Piper was already ripping open the bag.

_Yeah, she was kind of hungry. And no it didn’t occur to her that she should have refused it in the spirit of anger and spite._

“I don’t think she minds,” Natasha spoke. She stood next to Tony as he pulled a stool round the edge of the island in order to sit directly in front of Spidergirl. Tony thought it was hard to think of the girl in front of them as Spidergirl, because she looked far too harmless. Too cute.

Clint frowned as he watched Tony and Nat. He could tell they were anxious to ask questions, and he understood why completely – had even argued for her imprisonment just a few hours ago – but it seemed harsh, now. But it was clear, in spite of how she looked, that Spidergirl could handle herself. He wasn’t dumb enough to hold getting captured by the Avengers against her, because not many people could have avoided them. Really, he shouldn’t even be worried in the first place, and he was surprised that he even was.

Piper was going to eat the pop tart. She brought it right up to her mouth and opened wide: her stomach practically begging her to bite it, inhale it – something. But she stopped, setting the snack on the table, because whatever was happening was wrong. Nauseatingly wrong, and maybe Piper had been too dehydrated to realize it before she took the snack with so little hesitation. _God, did she seem as stupid as she felt?_ “When can I leave?”

Natasha and Tony started, suddenly met with the undeterred look of the girl in front of them. The assassin answered the straightforward question with bluntness of her own, “When you answer our questions.”

Piper knew that – she knew that already – and that wasn’t what she had meant by her question. However it did confirm her suspicion that they didn’t have any intention of letter her go otherwise. “What for?” She asked. Why in the world would they kidnap a small-time vigilante? Piper had avoided their attention as much as she possibly could.

“Honestly,” Natasha’s tone turned serious, “SHIELD assigned us to investigate your alias. You’ve been seen doing things on a super-human level, which could be dangerous if you decide to use your abilities for the wrong reasons. We just need to be sure you won’t.”

Steve was glad she left out the part where they were supposed to make sure they could disarm her with no issues. He knew it probably would have sounded a whole lot more cynical had she not used the careful phrasing she did.

Piper gaped. “Are you serious?” If there was one thing Piper didn’t do, it was hurt people. Not unless she really had to. Giving them a disbelieving look, she tried her best to keep the irritation from her voice. “I won’t go insane. Is that good?”

Clint snickered quietly as the others looked at her dumbfounded.

“Listen, it’s either cooperate with us and go home, or don’t and go to jail.” Tony didn’t mention that it wasn’t entirely that simple. If SHIELD did have to speak with her, she probably wouldn’t be thrown straight into jail unless she was actually dangerous. It wasn’t something she necessarily needed to know, though.

Piper bit down on whatever shocked noise was about to erupt from her throat. Prison had really only ever crossed her mind once, and that was before the police had given up their pursuit of her. Bitter as the realization was, Piper technically was breaking the law. It was just ridiculously unexpected that the Avengers would be the ones to bust her for it.

It wasn’t as if she was _actually_ committing any _real_ crimes.

“That-That is so lame.” Piper couldn’t help but glare at the indignant faces of her heroes, irritated at the whole premise. “Last time I checked, Kidnapping was a crime, too! Which technically makes you guys a danger to the public since I am indeed a member of the public. And –like- an email would have been just fine.”

“Umm, if we called arresting criminals kidnapping then that would defeat the purpose, don’t ya` think?” The mechanic rebounded loosely, quirking his brow at the sudden change in attitude of the vigilante.

“So I’m under arrest now?”

“No, not yet-“

“So it was kidnapping.” Piper looked at Tony Stark (Man, that was weird) with an unimpressed look and a quirk in her brow that mirrored his own.

“It was not kidnapping.” The Iron hero stated again, crossing his arms this time and pleading with small vexation, “Guys, tell her it was not kidnapping!”

Everyone but Clint seemed to look at the mechanic as if the conversation wasn’t even important – but it was. It was important to Tony that Spidergirl understand, _It was not kidnapping._ Tony Stark did not kidnap people who were definitely-not-kids; he merely arrested and borrowed them. The difference mattered.

Clint tilted his head at Tony’s plea. “Well... It’s not-not kidnapping.”

Steve wondered if they honestly thought this was how an interrogation worked. “Listen, we didn’t… kidnap you,” Steve struggled with the word, feeling kind of ridiculous. He walked up to Piper, now standing next to Natasha and Tony who were in front of her. “If we hadn’t taken you in when we did, SHIELD would have only pursued you further and I think you can imagine how that might how gone. We’re doing you a favor here, because we personally believe you wouldn’t hurt anyone on purpose.”

Piper found that it was hard to imagine getting kidnapped – or taken in – as Captain America had so helpfully put it, as a favor. She supposed the only really favorable thing about it was that she wasn’t in prison like they we’re suggesting. Her eyes focused on the space between Cap and Tony as she thought, because he said they trusted her. Enough to speak to her themselves, at least, and that was a comfort; because it wasn’t the avengers that she was wary of. Not until last night, that was. SHIELD had always been her main concern, because they were such a large organization with hundreds of people. People who could decide at any time that they didn’t want to follow the rules or keep classified secrets.

Such as the identities of certain heroes.

Piper looked at each of them as she inquired, “So is it your questions, or SHIELDs questions that I’m answering?”

“It’s ours,” Natasha answered coolly, arms on her elbows.

“I don’t have to speak to SHIELD?”

Natasha’s stare hardened in concentration. It was possible…. “If we decide we can trust you, then no.” But it would take some string pulling.

Piper clenched her hand around her wrist, feeling a slight hope bubble inside of her. “Do you have to tell them everything I tell you?”

Bruce, Tony, Steve, and Clint listened with their breaths held. It was clear to all of them that SHIELD would need proof of Spidergirl’s supposedly good character, and that the girl was aware of that. It was becoming obvious that she wanted nothing to do with the organization.

“We don’t have to, but it will depend on what we think of your answers.” Natasha was a little surprised at just how adamant she seemed to be about her privacy, but she didn’t question it. Nobody liked SHIELD when they weren’t on their side.

Piper shifted a little, trying to steel herself and look somewhat confident. “Okay, what do you need to know before I can leave?” She kept her voice on edge, because she was fairly sure her facial expressions betrayed her. She didn’t want to tell them anything, but resigned herself to the situation with the hope that she could get out of here with her dignity intact. If she had to tell them her age… Well, Spidergirl wouldn’t be so cool if she were an almost-fifteen year old teen. And Spidergirl was supposed to be the epitome of cool, and awesome, and amazing, and _comforting. Nobody would take her seriously if they knew._

_“Okay,” Tony set his feet on the bars of the stool. “Let’s start with your name.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys!!! I've been super busy lately, and it's not likely to slow down at all, but I'm going to do my absolute best to upload at least once a week. This chapter was also hard to write because it's such an emotionally confusing time for Piper. She has no idea what to do, but she's all she's got. She's got to figure it out her self.  
> Thank you guys so much for reading and sticking around, I can't wait to get to the fluffy and angsty stuff! Tell me what you think! I'm open to any ideas you guys have. :)  
> Thanks again! <3


	7. I Think This Is What Getting Off Track Looks Like

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She couldn’t help but be a little more concerned with getting out of here than anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it turns out I suck with schedules. :/  
> Also, there's swearing in this chapter! This will be the last warning for that, though. :)

Her name. Of course the first thing they wanted to know was her name. “It’s… It’s Piper.” She gripped the edge of her seat between her legs nervously.

“Just Piper? No last name, huh?” Ironman leaned forward with a forbidding expression.

Piper looked away with a frown. What would they do with her full name? She didn’t expect the Avengers to ever target her friends, but if they told someone who she was it would be an issue.

“It won’t leave this room - you’ve got nothing to worry about. Pinky Promise,” Clint wiggled his Pinky beside her; not expecting her to take him seriously, but then she was twisting around and locking her finger with his.

“For real?” She asked.

Clint stumbled, not caring to wipe the astonished expression from his face, “Yeah… I promise.”

Piper nodded slowly and turned back around, hand coming back to grip the metal of the stool. She tried to quell the hammering in her chest, because he had promised her that no-body would find out, and that meant nobody would. If promises counted for anything.

The group might have gaped in disbelief at just how unashamed Spidergirl seemed to be, but they were professionals; and professionals didn’t gape openly, but it was quite hard when witnessing a vigilante take a child’s promise so seriously.

“Parker.” Piper piped up, looking at them anxiously again. “My name’s Piper Parker.”

Natasha and Tony smiled at the rightness of it, but Steve only frowned further. Her actions seemed largely different than anyone else they had ever interrogated. She was much too willing to comply and speak to them given only the reassurance of their promise in return for her answers. Her demeanor rubbed him oddly.

“I like it,” Tony grinned. That was a nice, friendly name: one that wouldn’t belong to a criminal. “So… Piper, when did you get your powers? Or were you born with them?”

It was strange to hear her own name coming from the mouth of Tony Stark, but Piper was sure it would have been cooler under different circumstances. She took what she could, though, and was just glad nobody seemed to be writing down what she was saying. 

Of course she was unaware that an AI was constantly documenting everything that happened in the tower.

“N-No, I wasn’t born with them. I got them, like, three or four months ago.”

“How?” Bruce asked before Tony could, curiosity always getting the jump on him.

Piper turned to the doctor just left of Captain America. “I was bitten by a… radioactive spider.”

Clint and Tony started, asking at the same time, “What?”

“How were you bitten by a radioactive Spider?” The mechanic helpfully elaborated.

Piper shuffled a little, looking sheepish at how ridiculous it sounded. “I was at Oscorp Tower for a field-“ she cleared her throat “- a trip, and I got lost. Ended up somewhere loaded with spiders, and one followed me out I guess.”

“Bruce, is that even possible?” Tony looked to his friend, flabbergasted.

“I’ve never considered the possibility, but it must be.” He reckoned it would make sense that spiders could transfer radioactivity through their fangs the same way they might transfer venom.

“And of course they would have radioactive spiders…” Tony muttered under his breath.

Steve crossed his arms. “So, it obviously gave you certain abilities. What are they exactly?” It was important to know in case they ever had to fight her seriously.

Piper griped her wrist again, moving between actions in unease. “Um, I’m pretty strong now,” she swallowed, continuing after they nodded. “I’m faster, super flexible… my senses are pretty crazy – I guess, um – oh! I can stick to things.”

Bruce put a hand on his chin in thought, “You mean you actually can climb walls?” Everyone here had assumed it was the suit that did it.

“Yeah,” Piper thought it might be helpful to add,” I think it’s probably because the hairs on my skin grip things… Like a spider.” She wondered why they were so surprised that she could walk on walls, because there was no doubt they had seen her do it.

Tony looked horrified. “So… you can shoot the white stuff out of your hands, too?”

“… What?” The white stuff he was talking about had to be the web fluid. She cracked a grin, snickering the slightest bit, “You mean my webbing? I can’t shoot that out of me or anything.”

“Oh thank God,” he said with relief, watching with interest as the girl seemed to grow more comfortable. “That would have been too weird.”

“No weirder than the time we met that Deadpool guy,” Clint wagered, thinking of the man who had cut his own arm off just so that he could throw it at them.

The whole team shivered at the thought, and Steve grimaced. “I don’t even think he was trying to hit us the second time. I think he just liked doing it.” He didn’t even have to explain what _it_ was because he knew they were all thinking about it.

Piper had no clue who they were talking about, but was glad for a break from their attention. Their questions were starting to make her sweat, though her relief was short lived.

“Back to the point,” Natasha criticized and gave them all pointed looks. They weren’t done with their questions, and Natasha had a feeling that Spidergirl was worried about something. She knew it could just be the fact that she was being interrogated, but judging from her easy responses Natasha didn’t think that was it. The way the girl – Piper - seemed to tense at every question suggested that there was something she was afraid of answering. Logically, that was the one Natasha wanted to find. Slowly, but surely.

The team drew their attention gladly back to Spidergirl, and Tony realized that she hadn’t told them how exactly she shot spider webs from her wrists; but he was still relieved it wasn’t from inside of her. Natasha was the first to ask a question, but Tony would remind himself to ask again later.

“So, you got your powers about three months ago?”

Piper nodded, unable to resist admiring just how beautiful the assassin really was in person. _Would she look that gorgeous one day?_ She doubted it, but it didn’t stop her from hoping.

“And you just immediately decided to become a vigilante? I imagine your powers took some getting used to, and I know for a fact most people would have thought about such a big decision longer. My question is: why didn’t you come to us first?” Natasha realized the question may have sounded a little pressing, but it was an important one. The only suspicious part about Piper lie with her reason for becoming a vigilante, rather than a hero.

“I…” Piper didn’t know how to answer that in a simple way. Why had she done it? It was hard to remember until it was important that she do so, and she was sure she had thought about it the moment Ironman appeared in front of her demanding answers. 

“I have a normal life,” _where she went to high school_ , “and I don’t want all the attention.” Piper looked at the face of the woman in front of her, and she could tell it wasn’t enough.

Piper looked her in the eyes, because maybe her reasoning wouldn’t make sense to someone who lived the life style she avoided like the plague; but hopefully the sincerity she held would be enough to keep her out of jail. “You guys are the Avengers, and that’s cool – like super unbelievably cool, and I actually can’t even believe I’m talking to you guys right now, which is weird because I never imagined it going quite like this-“ She stopped herself, blushing and trying not to smack herself. “I mean, uh, that’s cool and all, but you’ve already got the big stuff handled.”

Tony wasn’t sure what he expected to feel, because he had an idea of what she was talking about; but her aura turning unexpectedly intense threw him off. Something in the way she spoke about her ideals made her seam older than anyone in the room.

“No-ones looking out for the little guy.” Piper furrowed her brows, gesturing vaguely as she tried to explain herself. “You fight aliens, which is super important, but people also just want to walk home at night without being murdered. I _want_ people to not have to worry that their loved ones aren’t going to make it home because of a drunk driver, or because somebody decided to… shoot up a convenience store. The avengers can’t be there to stop that, but I can.” She concluded softly, “That’s all I want. I don’t want the fame, or the money, or the rules: I just want to do my part in the best way I can.” Because it was just like Ben had told her, and she never forgot – never would. _With great power came great responsibility._

Steve’s eyes were wide with admiration. If there was one thing that kept him (he knew the others had the same experience) up at night: it was the people he couldn’t save. There were plenty of them – loads of them, but nobody could save everyone. The task was unthinkable even when they weren’t saving the world from alien hoards. Spidergirl was trying to do what they didn’t have the time or power to do. She was trying, and that was enough for Steve to give a little. He praised, “That’s very honorable.”

He had been the first to say it, but they had all thought it. Everyone but Piper herself knew just how much morality and good it took for someone to fight against a never-ending battle. She couldn’t see it, but glances were exchanged between the legendary heroes, and they were all fairly certain of their decision.  
Spidergirl was quite possibly the exact opposite of dangerous.

Piper’s face burned; because she had never said something so serious out loud before, and Captain America had just called her honorable – which Piper felt was a huge exaggeration – but it was astounding none the less. “Th-thanks, it would have been weird to not do anything, though.”

Clint busted out laughing, “Yeah, sure! If I had gotten bit buy some freaky spider I’d have made a fortune off of doing crazy tricks by now.”

Piper doubted it, but she didn’t say anything. She owed it to people to help them, and the guilt would eat her alive if she didn’t. The same way it still does with Uncle Ben.

Tony looked at his friend in agreement. “And then you’d have eaten away all your money by now,” he grinned at his mock dismay.

“Why are you guys always making fun of me when I eat?! Cap eats twice as much as me!”

“It’s not as fun,” Tony shrugged. He looked at the girl across him, seeing her lost in thought. She probably wasn’t enjoying their banter as much as they were, and he didn’t blame her. This was probably one of the worst days of her life.

On the contrary, Piper was wondering what time it was. She had to visit May today, and since it was Saturday it meant she would be able to stay a whole lot longer than usual. Hospitals had a thing about not letting people stay after certain hours, which she personally felt was ridiculous, but it couldn’t be helped. The weekends were the best shot she had at spending more than a few hours with May. A shot at normalcy. “Is… that all?” She implored.

The avengers looked at each other in comprehension, and Natasha took it upon herself to answer. “No, but you can go get changed now. We’re almost done.” The assassin nodded at Clint to hand her clothes, and he did, placing them gently in her hands with a grin.

Piper’s face burned and she wondered why she couldn’t have chosen a normal shirt, today of all days. “Um, this is, uh, a friend of mines,” she stuttered weekly.

Clint and Tony smirked knowingly as she stood, and Steve pointed her to the bathroom. She thanked him before trotting unsurely up to it, and as she disappeared inside, the Avengers immediately turned to each other.

“So, we screwed up.” The mechanic found it the slightest bit comedic.

They nodded, and Natasha put a hand on her chin. “It would seem so, but we still have to verify everything that she said – she could be lying.”

“We can have FRIDAY check.”

“Aren’t we going to ask her age?” Bruce catechized. His curiosity over the matter had only grown since he was first asked to see her.

Natasha nodded thoughtfully, considering with doubt the possibility of that being what was making her so nervous.

“Let’s make sure Piper Parker actually exists before we do, though I am curious as well.” Steve added, because he felt it would be pointless to ask the vigilante anything else if she hadn’t been truthful about their previous questions. Steve would be very disappointed if that were the case.

“FRIDAY,” Tony called, still sitting casually in his stool. “Is there a Piper Parker currently living in Queens?”

A split second later the AI had searched the databases completely. “It appears there is, Sir. Facial recognition suggests they are the same person, would you like me to read you her records?”

Tony would have said yes, was going to quite happily, but then the door to the bathroom clicked open and out walked the vigilante. It may be a little distasteful to read off someone’s personal information right in front of them, so he didn’t. “No. That’s alright.”

Piper came out of the ridiculously lush bathroom with the clothes she had been given in her hands. The mystery of who had changed them - and just whose they were - wasn’t too hard to guess, but it had her reeling. The Natasha Romanoff had actually given her some of her own clothes? The thought was extraterrestrial, however she didn’t ponder it too long, because she could hear the Avengers talking about her outside. If Piper could hear someone drop their keys from two blocks away, then naturally it wasn’t so hard to make out what people were saying just a hallway away from her. It also wasn’t exactly a coincidence that she had come out just as the wall-voice-thing (Piper guessed it was an AI) had started talking about her records.

Piper was going to avoid that until she was drowning in a muddy pool of excuses.

“You can leave the clothes in the bathroom,” Natasha called with a nod of reassurance. She was motivated by FRIDAY’s affirmation and wanted to clear the girl as soon as possible. Something about Piper Parker screamed innocence, but Nat figured it was the youthfulness of her features – something none of them had forgotten.

Stiffly, Piper put the folded clothes on the sink counter; shoving her hands in her pockets as she returned to the group of heroes. She wasn’t sure whether she should go back to sitting in the middle of them, or just continue standing in front of them where she had stopped; but they seemed to be waiting for her to sit down. She took her place silently, and then she wished she hadn’t.

“So,” Clint rested his head on his fist casually, “How old are you, Spidergirl? I’ve got to ask, because you’re making us look ancient.”

Piper choked on her panic, squeaking briefly, “What?”

Natasha noticed the sudden rigidity of her posture with a terror of her own. “How old are you?” She repeated.

“I-,” Piper cleared her throat, “How old do you think I am?”

“Eleven,” Tony supplied sardonically. Though he told himself it was against all possible outcomes, something told him the joke wasn’t so far off; and the feeling of dread was making him itch.

Piper glowered shortly before she caught herself, tensing at their actual guess.

“We thought you may be nineteen, which is young for a vigilante.” Steve thought that maybe if he explained why they were asking, it wouldn’t be so weird. She wouldn’t be so nervous. He noticed ruefully that he was wrong.

“I’m… almost nineteen,” she offered. _But it depends on your definition of almost._

Bruce let loose a breath, but quickly held it again once he saw the tension still on his friends’ faces.

“When?” Tony arched his brows, and Piper seemed to mirror it with both of hers; accompanied by the innocent pursing of her lips.

“July,” she gripped the edge of her chair unconsciously.

Tony narrowed his eyes. Obviously, Spidergirl was a terrible liar, “So, you’ll be nineteen this July?”

Piper gave an upturned shrug of the shoulders, “In July,” she affirmed roguishly.

The mechanic leaned forward, not sure whether to be amused or worried. “This July?” He repeated in suspicion.

Piper tilted her head to the side, “…. A July.”

“So not this year, then.”

“No.”

“Next year?”

Piper’s voice cracked, “2019?”

“Yes,” he confirmed in monotone, “2019.

“No.”

Tony let out a defeated groan. “So, you’re seventeen?” Being a minor was bad enough, and Tony wasn’t going to guess any lower.

Piper’s skin was burning, because obviously the AI he had could tell him if she were lying. She gulped and turned away.

“Come on, kid. We’re going to find out one way or another,” Steve urged.

Piper looked up at him through her eyelashes, “And then I can leave?”

Natasha was about to retort but Steve spoke before she could, “Sure thing.”

Piper cleared her throat again and raised her shoulders, trying not to be so nervous about it. Maybe they wouldn’t even care. “Umm,” she felt her confidence dwindle amidst the silence, “I’ll be nineteen in… four years.”

Clint openly gaped and Natasha could have copied him.

Then she continued. “Plus two months…” Piper trailed off, not entirely sure what to do. “And seven days…” she thought a second, “two hours, thirteen minutes, and-“

“-You’re kidding me,” Tony stood up abruptly and Piper flinched. She felt little reassurance in the fact that he didn’t seem to be directing his anger towards her: but then he was asking her impossible questions. Things Piper really, really didn’t want to answer.

“You’re parents are okay with this?” Tony asked. He felt sick, and it was most definitely because he had injured a child. A child. He had reached a whole new low and he didn’t even do it on purpose. Not to mention, what kind of parents just let their child run wild like that? Sure, Tony had no experience in the parenting category, but he figured anyone could manage the whole – _don’t fight thugs in alleyways_ – category.

Piper ignored his question, feeling a lot smaller. “You said I could leave.”

Tony countered, crossing his arms across his chest, “And you said you were a vigilante. Not a baby with some fancy superpowers.”

She grit her teeth. “I never said I was a vigilante, you guys did - And I’m not a baby,” though it sure felt like it when five adults were surrounding you with several different levels of scrutiny. She felt hot, and the ache in her head seemed to return with new vigor: Piper ducked her head.

Bruce, looking at the girl with the new information, felt a lot like they were ganging up on a kid. And she looked a lot like a kid, slouched in the chair with grown-ups towering over her; which seemed to be causing an issue. It was obviously beginning to be overwhelming. “Guys,” he beckoned their attention, and though it took longer than usual, they gave it to him. “I think we need to back off a little. Maybe only one or two of us should talk to Piper. Not all of us need to be here.”

Piper looked at him suddenly, realizing herself just how distraught she may be appearing; though it only added to the smallness she felt.

Natasha let go of her elbows and looked at Piper gently, “You’re right, Bruce. Piper… I’ll sort out everything with SHIELD if you agree to talk to one of us while I do. Just for a little bit.” The assassin looked at her carefully.

Piper was dumbfounded by their sudden change in attitude. No doubt, it was because they were surprised by her age; but she could only hope they wouldn’t treat her like a kid, even if it seemed to be helping her in this instance. She didn’t want to tell anyone about her life, because it seemed like she was begging for their attention. Honestly, it was hard to make it sound normal and happy - let alone to five people at once. “Okay…” Piper acquiesced unsurely, fiddling with the hem of her shirt as Natasha beckoned her to what appeared to be their living room.

“You can sit on the couch,” Natasha wasn’t entirely excited about speaking to Fury, but she knew she would have to make due. Especially in light of their new discovery.

Piper did, watching as she left the room and Tony Stark took her place. _As Tony freaking Stark_ practically towered over her, face bordering what Piper would call pale; she couldn’t help but be a little more concerned with getting out of here than anything.

“Alright, Kid.” Tony braced himself, trying not to seem too intimidating. Steve would probably nag him endlessly about it if he went overboard, and that definitely wouldn’t help anything. Tony couldn’t deny that his emotions easily got the best of him. “What’s your deal? Am I going to have to visit some parents and tell them I kidnapped their vigilante child?”

Piper’s mouth went dry, and she couldn’t even find it in her to point out his admittance of the whole kidnapping deal. What would her parents even think? She thought about it often, but never came up with anything good.

“So, your parents are aware that you parade around New York in spandex fighting criminals?” he continued.

“Is it really that important?”

“Uh, yeah, I think it is.”

Piper put her hands on her elbows and hoped to God her life didn’t sound worse than it was. “I don’t know.”

Tony resisted the urge to groan in bitter frustration. He was literally speaking to a teenager who somehow thought it was okay to be a hero at the age of fifteen - correction - fourteen. “You don’t know? Pretty lame excuse, try again.”

She fought the urge to roll her eyes, knowing it probably wouldn’t let her leave any sooner. She couldn’t however, resist the sarcasm. It came free with any purchase fifty notches above her comfort level. “I don’t know how the after-life works, Iron – uh – Mr. Stark, sir. If there is one, then maybe they do know. So… I don’t know?”

 _Oh dear fucksticks. Why the fucking, fuck_ – “Okay,” Tony’s heart dropped and he grimaced at the lost expression on her face, he then sighed. “Your guardians then? Please tell me they know, or else I’m going to have to tell _them._ ” _Please tell me you have gaurdians._

Piper’s head snapped up at the thought of her aunt. “You can’t,” she blurt.

The billionaire took a deliberate seat on the coffee table, elbows finding his knees. Finally, they seemed to be getting somewhere. The dead parents had thrown him off, because he knew how much that sucked, but it didn’t mean she was all alone like he had been. It wasn’t anything like that.

_Right? Oh dear, he hoped not-_

“Who takes care of you, Kid? I’ve at least got to know that before I send you off to them.” Though he wasn’t so sure about doing that just yet.

Piper pursed her lips, hoping he wasn’t as serious about all of this as he looked. “My aunt.”

Tony’s stomach shifted uneasily. “Her name?”

“It’s May, but seriously – I’m perfectly fine, and I forgive you guys for kidnapping me – which you did. So, I’ll just…” Piper made to get up but flopped back down as he pushed her back.

“May Parker?”

She nodded.

“And she knows about your… hobby?” Tony wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted her to say yes or no. Because which was better: A parent who was ridiculously oblivious, or one who let their child roam and do whatever the hell she was doing? Yeah, Tony was glad he didn’t have kids.

“Yes,” Piper tried to say it as casually as possible. It wasn’t a straight up lie – because she had told Aunt May. It was just hard for her aunt to remember certain things sometimes, and when she did Piper was fairly certain May had thought she was joking.

“Okay!” Tony clapped his hands and stood suddenly, voice filled with empty tones of excitement. “Let’s go.” He could only hope he knew what he was doing.

“W-where?” Piper stuttered, but jumped to her feet anyways. She followed the man into the crowded kitchen.

“To visit this ‘Aunt May’, of course.” Tony grabbed a jacket off of his chair, knowing full well the kid was going to argue. If this May really did know about the kid’s activities, then it shouldn’t be a problem; Tony reckoned. It didn’t mean he didn’t have a problem with it, though.

Piper gawked and swung her arms in wide gestures. “No, no, no, no. We can’t- why do you even want to do that? You _can’t_ just do that!”

“Um,” the billionaire rolled his eyes at the amused faces of his friends, “First of all: yes I can, I’m Ironman. Second, we can’t just let you go like that. You’re a kid. A practical toddler – running around fighting criminals at night. Isn’t that right, Steve? I’m sure you’ve seen his PSA’s, kid. No bullying, no drugs, and no fighting bank robbers when you’re still young enough to fight off chicken pocks.”

“That last one isn’t one of them,” she derided.

“It’s implied, I’m sure.” He nodded with fake smugness at the bewildered teenager in front of him whose mouth was opening and closing comically. Noticing Steve looking slightly uncomfortable across the kitchen counter, he knew he was probably holding back some emotional speech or something. They were common for the Soldier.

“What-“ _What is happening here_ “-Do you expect to get me grounded or something? Because that’s not cool – and it won’t work, by the way. This whole thing isn’t even my fault.” Piper crossed her arms in contempt.

Steve furrowed his brows at the confusing conversation, resting his hand on the counter. “We know it isn’t, but-“

“-It is. You got caught, Spidergirl. Can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.” Tony bit, smirking tauntingly at the girl’s answer.

“Oh! Okay, my bad. Next time two – no – three, “she glanced at Natasha, “of the world’s most powerful people attack me, I’ll be sure to tell them that I would prefer a rain check.” She glared, not even aware of her actions – but she did have an idea. One that didn’t have time for planning.

“If it had been fair, I’m sure I could have outrun you – especially if your suit is _that_ easy to open. You should probably fix that,” she provoked with a small and mischievous hope.

“Oh, you think you can outrun me?” Tony quipped, and the whole room sighed at how badly he just missed the point. Piper, however, only grinned.

“I know I can outrun you. I’m sure your suit would be a little harder.”

“Oh,” the billionaire grinned. “That’s it.”

“No,” Bruce pleaded, face already falling into his hands in defeat. “Tony, this is not the time. We have to find her parents.”

“Nope. I don’t care –“

“-Tony.” Steve urged.

“-We’re racing,” The billionaire finished, slipping off of his newly donned jacket in anticipation and grinning wildly.

Bruce groaned miserably and Steve sighed deeply; their demeanor only intensifying as the archer leapt from his chair excitedly. “Dibs on the timer! Nat got it last time, so it’s officially my turn.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Guys!! I thought this fic was getting pretty heavy so I decided to lighten it up a bit. I was going to go in a different direction but then my fingers were like "how bout no?" and that's how we ended up here. Haha, I also have thousands of ideas in my head and I'm losing my mind trying to sort all of them, but I guess that might result in some one-shots?  
> Seriously, thank you guys so much for reading!! And I appreciate everyone's comments so, so much. Thank you guys, really, and I hope you're all doing well! <3


	8. This Isn't The Dawn, It's The Dusk (And It's Very Real)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Forgive and Forget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Important notes at the end! I hope you enjoy!

“Sure thing Robin Hood, just make sure to press the right button this time,” Tony grinned. A race was the perfect (if not a bit inappropriate) opportunity to lighten the mood a little. Tony wasn’t sure what he would have done had he been forced to actually take the kid to her parents – or aunt, he supposed, with slight distaste. Was he curious? Yes. Was his passion for avoiding any sort of emotional scene stronger than his curiosity? Also yes.

For now, that was. He was also hoping that Natasha might offer to handle it for him, but has soon as he thought it he regretted it. That girl – kid – had saved his life, and he had somewhat forgotten. Most likely due to some subconscious effort to erode his guilt, which never actually worked, so he could only curse his brain for trying. Who was he to intrude on her life, though? Maybe… in return for saving his life Tony could cut the kid some slack.

A race might just do them both good, and the smile on Piper’s face only encouraged Tony’s thoughts. He didn’t even notice the scheming twinkle in her eye.

Bruce waved a hand in exasperation, “Does she even want to race?” He turned to Piper, “Do you?”

“Yeah, it’s Awesome,” Piper bounced her head gleefully, “I’ve gotta’ put my suit on, though.”

Bruce shook his head in disbelief, muttering to himself. “I’ll be in my office until you guys are done. I can’t watch this,” he excused himself and trudged out of the room. He could only hope that some good came out of Tony’s idea this time.

Tony unstrapped his watch from his wrist, nodding as he did so. “See you later, Bruciebear. And I think Nat put your suit in that torn up bag of yours,” he relayed without much of a second thought, setting his watch down on the table. It was rimmed with gold, the inside giving way to silver hues, and Piper was sure that it was worth more than she’s spent in her entire life.

“Oh,” Piper pulled the freshly cleaned piece of fabric from her bag on the table – noticing with some concern the anxious look on Captain America’s face – and hoped to thank the Black Widow personally when she returned. The assassin was probably speaking to SHIELD, and Piper felt a little bad about causing so much trouble, but her guilt was lessened immensely when she remembered just how she had gotten here in the first place.

Still, she thought it wouldn’t hurt to express some form of gratitude next time she saw her. Which, hopefully, wouldn’t be anytime soon if luck was on her side.

“Tony,” Steve called with warning. “Do you really think this is the time? You said it yourself, we should be contacting her parents.”

The man sighed exasperatingly as if he’d already heard this exact thing a thousand times. 

Not to mention the kid didn’t have parents.

“Lighten up a little _Steven,_ she already said her aunt knows. I’d also like to prepare a little bit, you know, if I do decide to tell her aunt that we kidnapped her child. I’m sure you see the problem with that, and – pretty sure you should be the one doing the talking in that case. Considering she has the hots for you,” he remarked snidely, smirk falling into place naturally. He was also very smoothly avoiding the whole dead parents issue.

Tony didn’t want to drag out any more sentiment than he had to.

Steve clenched his hands on the edge of the kitchen table, and Piper balked at the comment about her aunt. “W-what do you mean my aunt has _the hots_ for him? I never told you that,” she stuttered in confusion.

“Don’t worry about it,” Tony waved his hand apathetically and turned to Steve seriously this time. “The kid lives with her aunt, and other than her ridiculous vigilante thing everything is basically sorted out. Nat’s going to handle Fury, and then we can handle the rest. How’s that for a plan?”

“I’m just not sure this is a good idea…” Steve murmured. He was trying to convey the seriousness of the matter, but he couldn’t deny that there wasn’t much else to sort out. The only real issue they had was how absolutely young she was, and there was no way they were going to just let her leave knowing that. He supposed... the kid did seem excited about racing, and it’s not like she’d be going anywhere with all of them watching her. He caved, “I suppose I won’t stop you.” If he did, Tony would probably be giving him disappointed looks for days.

Clint whooped, “Now, let’s go before Nat comes down here, because she’ll kill me first.” He was unbelievably glad that the assassin had left before she could hear Tony’s proposal, but he also knew that her abrupt exit – though unnoticed by the others – could only mean that SHIELD had come calling. Deciding to ignore the unnerving realization, the archer clapped Steve on the back, shoving him around the bend of the kitchen island and in front of the stationary form of Spidergirl.

Piper was just trying to figure how they seemed to know about Aunt May’s celebrity crush on Captain America.

“You can get changed, kid. When you get out I’ll even help you kick this guy’s butt,” Clint jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at Tony with a lopsided grin. “Sound like fun?”

Piper’s question was forgotten as soon as the hero started talking to her, and she felt a little like she was dreaming. “Yeah,” She grinned shyly and secured her suit in her grasp.

Tony started in fake alarm, “Hey! No cheating. You can’t challenge Ironman and get away with it, Robin Hood.”

Piper stifled a giggle as she grabbed her bag and approached the bathroom, hearing the archer’s reply even as she went in and closed the door.

“Tell that to Bowser in World Seven.”

“Fictional characters don’t count!”

“But you not being able to beat him does.”

Piper wiggled into her suit, surprised to see the web shooters still attached. They must not have noticed them.

She snickered happily at her turn in luck, mumbling quietly to herself, “Awesome! Now I just have to win a race against ironman,” she paused. “Or not….” She dug through her bag and found her pencil case, ripping out a sticky note and pencil from inside the dusty carrier.

Smirking, she began to scribble, tucking it away safely in the pocket where her suit held her phone once she finished. She stepped out of the bathroom, surprised to see 

Hawkeye's and Tony Stark’s argument still going, except somehow it seemed to have shifted to a different genre of videogames.

“That’s nothing like real archery! Give me Zelda’s bow in real life and we’ll see how Gannon likes it,” Clint grumbled and Tony smirked haughtily.

“It’s the fact that you can’t beat him that’s _real,_ ” he mocked.

“Alright, Alright,“ Steve interrupted. He gestured with a tilt of his head to Piper, “let’s go.” The super soldier took the first steps towards the elevator, not caring as Tony strode past him quickly. They all rode the elevator up, albeit a bit awkwardly; considering Piper felt totally out of place and did her best to stand as far away from them as possible.  
They said something about the race and a roof top, but Piper was more focused on getting out of the elevator.

She let loose a breath as they came to a stop.

The top of Stark Tower was higher than she had ever been, and it had her wondering what falling from here would be like. There was one of those air ventilation things on top, and Piper noticed it was much smaller than any one she had seen. Perhaps because it was made of a more refined technology. Steve and Clint stood off to the side of the building as Tony called his suit: Piper made a show of tossing her bag to the ground as he did.

“Already, Kid,” the iron hero glided over to her side, “You know where the New York Museum of Heroes is? Just five blocks from here?”

She nodded, remembering with embarrassment just how many times she had been there.

“Good.” The iron mask slid shut, and Piper wondered if he expected her to run there. When she had said that she could beat him in a race, she had really only meant without the suit. There was quite possibly absolutely no way she could win, because even with the use of her web shooters his suit had far more power than her legs. 

It was a good thing winning wasn’t her plan - At least not fairly.

“So, the rules are,” he began, “ - No rules – Who needs them? But Cap and Birdbrain here have your stuff. Also, Clint will only stop the time once one of us makes it back here.” Tony didn’t think the kid would have the nerve to try anything, but Natasha would kill him if the kid left. Though he sort of wanted the kid to make a break, because it’s not as if they couldn’t sort things out without her. Sure, it might take a little more coercion, but not much.

The poor kid had been through enough already.

Piper looked through the corner of her eyes to see the super soldier grab her bag, though she had already guessed that he would. It only lowered her success rate by a notch or so, and she could work with odds like that. She bounced eagerly from foot to foot, looking at her hero with mixed emotions.

_She kind of did want to race him… but – no. She couldn’t stay here and be patronized all day when she had far better things to do._

“You ready?” Tony asked, standing relaxed and poised.

Piper nodded, suit lenses narrowing. “Yep!”

“You got this Spidergirl!” Clint called through the swift and inconsistent winds, waving his hand encouragingly.

Piper could only wave back as Ironman began to count.

“On your mark, 3…2…Go!” The Ironsuit’s blasters flared to life in a glow of blue light, and Piper sped off after him – jumping from building top to building top – which was drastically harder in Brooklyn.

Tony looked behind him to see her on his tail, and he figured it wouldn’t hurt to speed it up a bit. He gained distance, and Piper took that as her Que.

She sped towards the next gap between skyscrapers, and instead of leaping, she stepped right off; catching herself once she was out of view with her webs. She knew she didn’t have much time, so she quickly dropped down to the streets and swung low amongst the groups of people walking, shouting greetings to them as she made her way in the direction she came.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Nice hat, dude!”

“Ouch - Sorry!”

Piper grimaced and looked back apologetically at the guy stumbling back to his feet and cursing his muddy pants. She may have gotten a little carried away, but before she could even think about buying the guy a new pair of pants, she was faced with the Tower’s bold face again. She swung smoothly through the air and latched onto its side.

Through the bustle of people beneath her, she could hear some people marvel at her in curiosity, but she didn’t particularly care about what the magazines concluded about her here. It would most likely blow over within a week or so. She scurried up the building, feeling like an animal of some sort whenever she moved on all fours like she was, and slipped over the edge. She noticed that Captain America was standing exactly as she had left him, and Hawkeye just looked plain bored.

They started once they realized she was there.

“Hey, Guys!” She shouted quickly, “So Mr. Stark wanted me to tell you guys that he needs one of you to send him another suit. His broke down, and I think it was probably because of when I tore out the front of it…” Piper rubbed the back of her neck nervously, though she was hoping it looked more sheepish than anything.

Steve furrowed his brows, “You mean he actually took that suit out before it was fixed?”

Piper tried to act casual about it, “I don’t know… he just wanted another one sent.”

The soldier nodded, realizing that the girl wouldn’t actually know whether or not Tony did something like that or not. He sighed, giving Piper’s bag to a grinning archer and turning back towards the elevator. “I’ll go send one.”

Clint only laughed in reply, looking at Piper in amusement. “Tony’s going to be so pissed when he gets back,” he plopped himself on the ground in an unruly fashion. “Everyone’s already freaking out because you’re just a little kid.”

Piper huffed at the comment, crossing her arms and standing in front of him; eyeing her bag carefully. “I may be young, but I haven’t been a kid in a long time.”

The archer looked up at her funny, and Piper almost cried for joy when he set her bag beside him, but then he kept talking. “Why’s that?”

Piper shrugged, sitting down briefly beside him. She pulled something out of her pocket and stared at it for a second or two before replying, “I don’t know, I guess I just grew up faster.”Before he could say anything, though, she held out her hand to him. “Can I give something to you?”

Clint, blinded by her innocent tone, agreed thoughtlessly. “Sure, what is it?” He watched as a folded piece of paper was dropped in his hand, and before he could ask why he looked up and the girl was gone, bag swept away from him mercilessly.

“Give that to Ironman, Please! And thanks!” She called, already swinging out of sight by the time Clint cambered to his feet.

He paled, mouth agape. “That little shit,” he muttered breathlessly, gripping the paper in his hands. What had actually just happened? One second he was holding what seemed to be a nice conversation, and then she was flying off of the roof with webs that Natasha had supposedly taken away. He remembered because she said something about it when they were packing the vigilante’s bag that morning.

_“Can you take off the shooters before you put the suit in the bag?”_

_Clint grunted a response as he dumped what appeared to be two months’ worth of granola bar wrappers into the trash. “How much does this girl eat?” he commented off-handedly._

_Natasha sighed, collecting a few documents in her hands and turning to leave. “Did you hear me, Clint?”_

_The archer nodded distractedly, “Yeah. Suit – Bag. Got it, Snoochems.”_

_The assassin shook her head, swaggering out of the room before she decided to hit him._

Yeah, it was safe to say Clint had absolutely no idea how Natasha could have left something so important in the bag, but he knew it was pointless fretting over now. He heard the thrusters of Tony’s suit approaching and he looked up in time to see him arrive.

So she had completely fooled them, huh? Clint found it kind of funny – the kid was good.

As the suit peeled away from the billionaire, the other member of their group rushed out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened. He looked frazzled, jogging up to Clint and Tony with a panicked look on his face. “She lied,” he stated disbelieving.

Tony eyed them warily, “What do you mean? Did she make it back already?” He hadn’t seen her at all on his way back, so he could only assume that maybe he had gone a little too fast.

A short laugh had Tony and Steve glaring at Clint, wondering what exactly was so funny. He was looking into his palm as if he’d never seen it before; and before anyone could ask, he explained. “Yeah, we’ve been had,” Clint informed, unable to contain his amusement.

“What do you mean we’ve been had?” Tony asked, though he already knew it meant that Piper had… left. Escaped might be a better word.

Steve sighed and ran a hand over his face: realizing just how dumb he was for not thinking about any of this sooner. “She came back not two minutes after you left and said your suit broke down. I went to send you another one, and then she must have gotten the better of Clint. I only realized the problem when I saw your other suit on the floor of the lab.”

“She just grabbed the bag and left!” Clint complained airily, “Also, she somehow had her web things. It’s not like I had anything to shoot her down with either, but…” he looked at Tony with a knowing look on his face. “She left you this.”

The billionaire received the small paper with a raised brow, unfolding the dirty sticky note and chuckling as he read the scribbled handwriting.

“What is it?” Steve inquired.

Tony looked up with a shake of his head, “It’s a rain check.” A brazen one at that, he noted with some appreciation. The super soldier took the note with a confused look on his face; bringing it closer to his face to read it.

_I win! :P - Spidergirl_

Steve looked at his friend. “That’s hardly a raincheck, Tony.”

“Oh,” the billionaire grinned, “Believe me. It is.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Piper! Hey, dude! Did you come over to work on the new Lego bot you promised to-“

“Let’s go inside!” The enhanced teenager promptly shoved her best friend inside his own house, pulling him up the blue carpeted stairs and into the second door on the left. Ned stumbled behind her in perplexity, slightly concerned when she dropped onto her back on his bed and threw her limbs around randomly. He noticed that she left her suit hanging out of her backpack – again.

“Ned – Ned,“ She slapped her cheeks, rolling back and forth on the bed in a hysterical fashion. “Ned, Ned, Ned - Dude, oh my – you are not going to believe what happened. I think I died – I – I don’t even know if I’m alive right now.”

“What do you mean? What happened, dude? Are you – “

Before he could finish his sentence Piper bolted upright again, facing him with an out-of-it look. Ned stood worried, but not surprised by his friends jitters as she sputtered things he was sure nobody else on this planet would have been able to make out.

“I was kidnapped -”

Ned’s eyes widened and he took a step forward.

“-By the Avengers.” He stopped abruptly, wondering suddenly if he couldn’t understand his best friend’s gibberish after all.

“What?”

Piper took a breath, waving her hands to demonstrate as she recounted the past evening. “I was just on patrol – minding my own business, you know? – and then there’s Ironman.”

“Wait, the Ironman?” Ned squeaked, flopping down beside her with an equally bewildered look on his face.

Piper nodded frantically, not even taking a breath. “Yeah, the Ironman. And he was like _‘come with me or I have to arrest you’_ and then I was like _‘What? Why,’_ and it turns out they thought I was super dangerous or something – well, according to Black Widow –“

“What!?” Ned interrupted again, “What do you mean Black Widow? As in _the Black Widow?_ She was there?”

Piper stopped, shaking her head to clear it. “Well, yes, just not then. Because I was like _‘No thanks, Ironman’_ even though it was so totally awesome, and being chased by him was also pretty freaking amazing, and then –“

“You ran from Ironman?”

“Yes, Ned. He was going to arrest me.”

“Why would he do that? He’s a hero and so are you.”

Piper groaned, “I know, right? I’m getting to that. But then he was chasing – “

“-Maybe you should have just talked to him. I mean he is Ironman, he probably didn’t want to just arrest you,” Ned reasoned easily.

“See, that’s what I thought too! But my sense was going off –“

“Your Spidey-sense.”

“Yes, my Spidey sense. And it was going off, so I couldn’t just ignore it or anything. Plus, I didn’t want them to see my face or whatever.”

Ned nodded with a hand on his chin. “So, like, he _chased_ you? Then what?” This was the most excitement either of them had had since… ever!

“Right! This is where it starts to really suck, because I was just running and stuff, and then I slam into a wall! Or at least I thought it was a wall, but it was actually Captain America. And he is n-“

“Captain America!?” Ned exclaimed eagerly at the mention of his favorite hero. “He was there?!”

“Yes, Ned. He was most definitely there, and incredibly heavy. So like I had to run from him too, and that was going okay, because he’s strong – stronger than anyone else I’ve faced – but,” and Piper was surprised at her realization, “he wasn’t like _super_ strong. Like I could have thrown him off of me I think.”

“Was he on top of you or something? - And why didn’t you? Although I guess he is _Captain America_ , hero of all of the U.S.A,” Ned began to mumble incoherently.

Piper stumbled over the events, trying to sort through the fuzzier moments. “Well, he was on top of me at the end - I think. But I couldn’t really move, and I think it was because they drugged me with these darts,” she spaced her fingers according to their size as she could remember. “Like three of them or something, and then the next thing I know I’m waking up on a couch and Bruce Banner – Yes, ned. The Bruce Banner – Is there, and he’s asking me about my arm-“

“-What happened to your arm?”

“Oh, Mr. Stark slammed me into a building and then I almost killed him by accident – but I didn’t! I caught him before he fell… after I pulled the wires from his suit…”

Her best friend gaped at her and grabbed her shoulders, “What do you mean you almost _killed Ironman?!”_

“He was the one who threw me against a building in the first place! It was an accident, and my shoulder hurt so bad I couldn’t even think properly.”

Ned’s gaze softened and he looked at both of the shoulders he was holding in sudden panic, “Are you still hurt?”

She shook her head with a grin, “No. Apparently I fixed it, and then my healing took care of the rest.”

“You don’t remember healing it?” Her friend visibly relaxed, though still enthralled. He was happy she wasn’t hurt.

“No, I think it was ‘cause they drugged me,” she shivered, shaking her head in disbelief again. “And like, I woke up, right?”

Ned nodded encouragingly.

“And then the Hawkeye and Black Widow were there! And Hawkeye was actually a pretty cool dude, but I think he ate all the bars from my bag,” she frowned lopsidedly. “And then they all wanted to ask me a bunch of questions!” Piper flopped onto her back, ruffling her hair as she came to the climax of her story. “And now all of the Avengers know who I am! And that they think I’m just a kid! It was so lame, Ned. They treated me like some sort of baby after they found out,” she groaned miserably.

“They know who you are? And you are a kid.” Ned looked down at his best friend in concern, knowing full well the efforts she took to keep her identity a secret. If it were Ned with the powers, then the whole world would know who he was.

She sighed quietly, “Yeah.”

He blinked, breathing out in incredulity, “You were actually kidnaped by the Avengers?”

She sighed again, “Yeah.”

“Holy Shit.”

“I know.”

“What the fudge!”

“I know.”

Ned let himself fall into place beside her, staring up at the ceiling – but not really seeing it. 

“This is crazy,” he finished.

“Super crazy.”

Ned looked over at Piper, suddenly aware that being kidnapped was no ride in the park. “You okay? I mean, I can go beat them up for you. I don’t know how well that would go – well, _terribly_ – but I’ll do it. I’ll get MJ and she can beat them senseless with words.”

Piper giggled and turned to face him. “What if I said yes?”

He paled dramatically in response, “Well, uh - the Avengers better be ready catch these fists!” He punched the air for enhanced effect.

“I think hacking their AI is a better plan, but if you decide on fists, I’d wait for MJ to do a number on them first,” she laughed earnestly. Piper punched Ned’s shoulder in a loving manner from where they were lying next to each other, “Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to beat up the Avengers in my honor.”

The teenager slumped in relief; fully prepared to keep his word, only not so keen on having to do it. He didn’t want to go out so young.

“Besides,” Piper shrugged and sat up, “I don’t think they’ll give it out to anyone anyways.” She could only hope they left her alone from now on.

Ned sat up when Piper did, “They are heroes.” He shifted a concerned gaze to his friend, “and they did let you go, so that’s a good sign.”

Piper shifted as he said it, focusing on a Star Wars poster Ned had on his wall.

Panic flared in Ned’s gut as he took in his friend’s actions – he knew them all too well. “They did… let you go, right?” He gulped comically.

“Um,” Piper started, and Ned’s jaw dropped before he even knew what happened, “Well, not exactly. Mr. Stark challenged me to a race - to pass the time - and he never put a time limit on how long I had to finish it, so….”

“Oh my gosh,” Ned held on to his cheeks in a panic, “ _Oh my gosh._ ”

“It’ll be fine!”

“You’re running from the Avengers!” Ned shouted, completely aghast.

Piper tried waving her hands in a calming gesture, but her nervous laugh betrayed her. “They probably won’t even care.”

“Bu-“ The door to Ned’s room opened, and Piper was suddenly reminded of just how terrible Ned’s mom was at knocking.

“Ned – Oh - Hi, Piper.” The woman, brunette and curvy, spoke warmly to Piper. “I didn’t know you were here! I was just going to make lunch, will you be staying?” She smiled, “We love it when you stay.”

Piper’s heart always ached whenever Ned’s mom spoke to her, and she completely forgot about her previous conversation. It was so reminiscent of what she thought her mom sounded like, and she couldn’t help but feel warm inside every time they spoke. “I’d love to Nadia, thank you!” Piper cringed at the ache growing more and more unbearable in her stomach, “I’m actually starving.”

“Perfect!” she grinned in delight, “We’re just having soup. Oh, and Ned? Don’t forget about your laundry, okay?”

Ned affirmed with a sluggish bounce of his head, “Okay. We’ll be down there soon.”

Nadia nodded and waved to Piper before she closed the door. Piper was going to mention how much she adored Ned’s mother when he threw his hands into the air, again.

“What are we gonna do?!” He exclaimed anxiously, looking to his best friend for the answers; though he knew it was unfair to expect them of her.

Once again, Piper could only shrug and laugh it off. “I’ll just wait and see what happens. I don’t have a bad feeling about it.”

“That’s crazy.”

“I know.” It wasn’t as if she had much else to do, though. She could go back… but she wasn’t doing that until she visited Aunt May, and she wasn’t doing that until she ate something, and by then it would probably be pointless.

“This is insane,” Ned shook his head profusely, “and so totally awesome.”

Piper grinned as he looked at her, and they both burst out laughing. Ned choked on his words in between laughter, “Our lives are crazy freakin weird.”

“Super,” Piper sighed giddily. Their lives were indeed pretty freakin’ weird, but she couldn’t imagine it any other way.

Lucky for her, SHIELD was too busy dying to change it.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three heroes left the roof top begrudgingly, knowing their more sensible partners were going to murder them when they delivered the news. They had just let a fourteen year old vigilante slip from their grasp.

Tony and Clint were happy for the kid, but Steve was just plain worried.

In the kitchen Natasha was waiting for them, and it took them only one look at her serious expression to know something was wrong. Clint assumed she had found out about their mistake.

“Listen -“ he began, only to be cut off by the stern voice of the assassin.

“ - We have a problem,” she gripped her phone tightly in one hand, trying not to show her nerves. “Forget about Spidergirl.”

Steve balked, “What?”

Natasha looked them all square in the eyes, understanding every emotion that danced in them. Unbeknownst to them, it would be the last time they understood each other for a long while, because after this moment; none of them would look at each other the same.

“Fury’s dead and the United Nations want to speak with us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is where Civil War comes into my story! The next part of the story will focus on what happens after Germany, and before the whole "living with the avengers thing" I'm going to be focusing greatly on Aunt May (before I end her - I am so sorry), Ned and MJ, and Tony (And Rhodey and Happy!! woohoo!!). It will be about the struggle Piper and Tony go through respectively and together: like Civil War and Aunt May. It's going to be angsty, but I assure happy fluffy moments, too, because my heart needs them.  
> I have Ned and MJ's big arc pretty well thought of, as well as May's. After that part of the series the Avengers will be back and cuter than ever! I plan on having an arc for each character where they bond with Piper; and I'm pretty sure I have a good idea of Clint, Loki's, Bucky's, Dr. Strange's, and Wade's.  
> It's not going to be Team Cap bashing! The different points of view will all be explored and what-not. :)  
> OKAY LET'S VOTE! Who should Tony be with? I was going to have Pepper in there, but I also thought of Steve. So, Steve or Pepper? Who would make a better mom to Piper? XD And if there's anything else you'd like to see, let me know!  
> THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH. I've had such a great time with this story so far, and it's all because of you guys. I love you guys, and I can't wait to hear your thoughts. :) <3

**Author's Note:**

> There's the start! I hope it seems intriguing!  
> I've read another story that started out like this except Peter was like being framed for mass-murder or something. And then the plot got wildly different from what this is going to be but just to be clear the basis for this was inspired. Anyways - that fic is still ongoing and it's pretty good so far! I'll find it and put the link here.  
> Anyways - Poor baby Piper is going through so much right now. It'll get better - or will it? 0.o  
> I'll update at least once a week for now! So please keep reading - if you want. haha  
> Thank you so much! <3


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